FLOURISHING LIFE SOCIETY
  • Flourishing Life Society
    • Flourishing Favorites
    • Articles by Year Published
    • Privacy Policy
    • About Us
  • Psychology Fanatic
  • Psychology Definitions
  • Psychology of Wellness
    • Psychology of Emotions >
      • Emotional Data Base
    • Psychology Article Archive
  • Personal Development
    • Health and Fitness
    • Personal Development >
      • Personal Development Archive N-Z
  • Relationships
Home | Psychology of Wellness | Self-Confirming Bias

Self-Confirming Bias

BY: T. Franklin Murphy | October 2017 (edited December 5, 2021)
Self-confirming bias. A woman devil and an angel. Flourishing Life Society article on Self-Confirming Biases
Adobe Stock Images
Concepts formed by words are muddied with bias and amazingly resistant to change. We simplify, label, and then stop investigation.
The self is a complicated subject. We are encouraged to discover the self. In noble vagueness, this makes sense but in practicality simple definitions of self flounder, grasping to identify the dynamic being behind our action, we either become stumped or deceived. Instead of dwelling on the wonder of complexity, in awe for what we cannot know, we settle for simple labels; I’m honest; I’m smart; I’m a victim; I’m a drug abuser.

Conceptual Labels

​We need conceptual labels to function and share knowledge in this world of language. But with utility, we lose the gifts of complexity. Simpleness has a significant cost, weakening experience, and intruding on openness. Our dependence on prefixed labels diminishes flexibility to receive the novel.
We shouldn’t abandon examinations into self just because we can't achieve a neat understanding. Knowing underlying motivations, histories along with current patterns of thought and action is enlightening (and helpful). Knowledge of self is the building blocks of identity. The loss is incurred when self-knowledge gives way to rigid labels, demanding confirmations rather than continued investigations. These mindsets create self-confirming biases.

Biases Resistant to Change

​Self-confirming biases, once set, reject opposing information, contorting experience to fit preconceived notions. These firm beliefs of self twist interactions and limit growth. In order to gain from self-knowledge, we must include an asterisk with all discovered definitions, footnoting the limitations of words, and leaving room for a more complex unexplainable whole.

Continually Asking "Who Am I?"

Deborah Luepnitz, in her wonderful book Schopenhauer's Porcupines, writes, “The point is not to go nameless, to refuse the question “Who am I?”, but to keep the conversation about identity going" (p. 184). Our enlightened discoveries of self are not definitive, all-encompassing explanations; but simply another clue to the great mystery of life.
 
We only successfully express wisdom when we accept limits to our understanding. Respecting the inadequacies of concepts (labels), opens our mind to continued gathering of knowledge that is less biased, free of faulty and rigid beliefs.
"​The confirmation bias describes our underlying tendency to notice, focus on, and give greater credence to evidence that fits with our existing beliefs."
The Decision Lab

Fighting Bias with an Open Mindset

​This open mindset prepares for not only a greater understanding of self, but also, for a greater understanding of others. We curb the divisive biases that create unpassable barriers and impede necessary conversations when we open to information that challenges our beliefs. Only then can we  heal divides, escaping the narrow mindedness that currently prevails, continuously deepening the wounds with hate and suspicion.

We must cautiously examine our narrative. Identify simplified labels and check them for bias. Only then can we puncture the hard shell limiting growth, freeing our souls from living in blind ignorance of the greater complexities of the universe. 
Please support Flourishing Life Society with a social media share or by visiting a link:
Twitter Reddit LinkedIn Email

References:

​Luepnitz, D. (2003). Schopenhauer's Porcupines: Intimacy And Its Dilemmas: Five Stories Of Psychotherapy. Basic Books. Read on Kindle Books
Psychology of Wellness Banner link to Flourishing Life Society articles
Link to an alphabetical listing of Flourishing Life Society article topics

​Other Flourishing Life Society articles of interest on this topic:

We must manage worry to push action without burdening with overwhelm. Concern for the future is important but easily can become all consuming.
Psychological Flexibility. A Flourishing Life Society article image link
Uncovering Hidden Beliefs. Albert Ellis's ABC model. A Flourishing Life Society image link
Zero Sum Game. A Flourishing Life article link
Picture
Science cannot answer all the details of life, much remains undiscovered beyond the grasp of laboratories and imaging machines. This is the undefined center of life.
Feelings are not a fool proof method for decisions. Our biased reliance on our own intuition can lead us astray, especially when we rely on our thoughts over proven and compelling research.
We unwittingly promote unhealthy defense mechanisms on line. There are plenty pf social media participants willing to support life limiting adaptations.
​Positive attitudes boost performance; but if our performance is ill designed we still fail.
Life is governed by laws. Many actions involve several laws competing fro dominance.
Our amazing mind assigns meaning to felt experience, creating emotion. Sometimes this process misdiagnosis the environment and leads us astray.
Reciprocal Determinism. A Flourishing Life Society article link
Logotherapy. A psychological definition of logotherapy. Article link
Flourishing Life Society Link. Memory: Memories aren't perfect. They form to fit our beliefs, limiting learning and encouraging justifications.
FLS Link. Liar Liar: Pathological Liar. Pervasive liars destroy relationships and limit personal growth. While the causes of pathological fibbing are complex, we can examine our own honesty and realign with reality.
A Flourishing Life Society article link. Fear of Failure
The human ability to share intelligence catapults our species into a different realm of existence. Knowledge accumulates from generation to generation. However, the concepts are muddied with bias, amazingly resistant to change.
  • Flourishing Life Society
    • Flourishing Favorites
    • Articles by Year Published
    • Privacy Policy
    • About Us
  • Psychology Fanatic
  • Psychology Definitions
  • Psychology of Wellness
    • Psychology of Emotions >
      • Emotional Data Base
    • Psychology Article Archive
  • Personal Development
    • Health and Fitness
    • Personal Development >
      • Personal Development Archive N-Z
  • Relationships