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Wednesday, September 16, 2020 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Your Story
MATTERS
Audry Van Houweling, PMHNP
Columnist
Challenging
confirmation
bias
After my years work-
ing in mental health, I have
come to recognize that peo-
ple tend to find what they
are looking for. It is the
conscious and subconscious
quest to validate our world-
views, justify our positions,
and hold on to our terri-
tory that can be both trans-
forming and very limiting.
Multiple people can have the
same experience and have
vastly different interpreta-
tions and reactions. Most
of us want to believe our
interpretation is valid and
therefore, tend to side with
information that reinforces
our mindset regardless of
whether that information is
based in fact or not.
This tendency has been
termed <confirmation bias.=
Research suggests that
even when presented factual
information in opposition
to our worldview, we rarely
reconsider, but in fact, iden-
tify even more with what
we want to be true. So basi-
cally, it takes a whole lot of
diligence to change our own
minds.
I had a client once who
wanted to run a marathon.
Problem was that she had
technically not run more
than a mile in the past five
years. She also believed her-
self not to be <good= at run-
ning. <I get winded walking
up stairs,= she said, and <I
am bad at following a rou-
tine.= Her confirmation bias
sought out ways to justify
her belief of not being a good
runner and the prophecy was
fulfilled. We began the work
to challenge her narrative.
After initial resistance and
doubt, she eventually, again
and again, began voicing, <I
am a good runner= 4 <I can
do hard things.=
She ran a marathon the
next year. She had suc-
ceeded in replacing her con-
firmation bias from some-
thing limiting to something
empowering. Simple in
theory; not always easy to
implement.
Exploiting our confirma-
tion bias has major politi-
cal, economic, and social
implications. Political cam-
paigns are expertly crafted
to embolden our confirma-
tion biases. Whether based
in actual truth or not, if a
campaign validates what we
wish to be true, we are likely
to side with it. In behavioral
economics and marketing,
confirmation bias plays a
major role in how we choose
to spend our money depend-
ing on how a company
aligns its product with our
wished-for-worldview.
Social media may be the
most efficient at exploiting
our biases. Using algorithms
and tracking to follow our
For all your fall
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preferences, what is pre-
sented on our Facebook wall
or the ads that bombard our
screens has been customized
to prey upon our individual
biases. It does little to chal-
lenge our worldview and
instead generally reinforces
our territorialism. Perhaps
if we knew how much our
minds were being hijacked
by computerized code or
quite possibly a 20-some-
thing Russian with nothing
better to do, we would all be
a bit more disturbed...
We are presented with an
idea that we must choose a
side and that each side must
be associated with particular
ways of behaving, believ-
ing, and voting. When we
fall victim to such rigidity,
we often give up growth, the
opportunity for connection,
and progress.
We have so too been pre-
sented with illusory corre-
lations. We perceive a rela-
tionship between variables
when actually none exists.
Just because a cluster of
variables appear together at
times, does not mean they
are by definition correlated.
According to the Pew
Research Center (2016),
the top two negative ste-
reotypes Democrats had
about Republicans were:
1. Dishonesty; 2. Closed
OUR DINING ROOM
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mindedness. Vice versa,
Republicans felt Democrats
to be: 1. Lazy; 2. Closed
minded.
While a Democrat may
have had an experience
with a Republican that
revealed dishonesty, there
have likely many occasions
when said <Republican= has
also been perfectly honest.
Additionally, a Republican
may have encountered a
Democrat who may not
have been the most indus-
trious, but very likely also
Democrats who were hard at
work.
There may be many
exceptions to our stereo-
types, but often confirmation
bias can filter what we actu-
ally acknowledge.
It can become danger-
ous when our confirmation
bias and perceived illusory
correlations seek to validate
hate or unjustified violence.
In Nazi Germany, Hitler pro-
vided millions of vulnerable
citizens with a way to proj-
ect their deep desperation
after Germany9s financial
collapse. He played upon
the confirmation bias that
the German people were
not to blame, that they were
victims, that Germany could
again be a great nation. He
propagated the illusory
correlations that Jewish
citizens, intellectuals, and
others were terrorists,
thieves, liars, and a driving
force behind Germany9s per-
ils. The relief that came with
a scapegoat rather than per-
sonal responsibility resulted
in the deaths of over 11
million.
Ultimately, you are abso-
lutely entitled to your side
of the fence. You can wave
your banners, post your
yard signs, march in pro-
test, and drive around town
with flags on the back of
your truck. Thankfully, this
is America and such things
are protected. It is also just
fine to be sitting on the rails
observing with curiosity
and perhaps a little shock
and awe. I find myself here
often.
It is how we uphold the
values of life, liberty, and
the pursuit of happiness for
those on the other side of the
fence that tests our true char-
acter as citizens of this coun-
try. As Oscar Wilde puts it,
<to define is to limit.= Can
we take pride in our side of
the pasture while also mak-
ing room for and, by the
grace of God, even embrac-
ing those on the other side?
Is the truth you seek open
for interpretation?
Perhaps you should start
telling yourself it9s possible.
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Audry
Van Houweling
PMHNP-BC
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