Out of all of the cognitive biases, Confirmation Bias might be the most damaging in my opinion because it keeps you locked in one lane.
Before we get into it what is Confirmation Bias?
The tendency to search for, interpret, and recall information in a way that confirms one’s preexisting beliefs.
A person who believes in ghosts might focus on unexplained phenomena in their house, ignoring the logical explanations for strange noises. It’s not that house is old and your two kids have been dribbling the basketball on the wood floor. It’s the 86-year old ghost roaming the hallways.
And this is why Confirmation Bias can be so dangerous. It keeps you on a certain path because you want that path to be right. It’s hard to become the smartest in the room if you limit your ability to look outside of your own bias.
How Confirmation Bias Damages Your Personal Growth
This site is about becoming a better version of yourself. If you want to stop underachieving then you need to become a better learner and that is near impossible with Confirmation Bias blinding you to everything.
The reason why it hurts your learning is because Confirmation Bias causes you to seek out information that aligns with your existing beliefs. You want to find the things that confirm you are right so that you feel better.
The problem is that you then also ignore or dismiss contradictory evidence.
How can you learn new things or have a more comprehensive understanding of complex issues if you only look at the reasons why something makes you right?
But this isn’t even the worst thing. It’s possible that if you can’t see your Confirmation Bias then you also can’t see when you’re wrong.
You End Up Digging a Deeper Hole in the Wrong Spot
When you only focus on information that confirms your ideas then what happens if those ideas are wrong? Then it means over time you become the most wrong person in the room and you can’t see it.
You think everyone else is crazy and they have an inaccurate worldview.
You’ve become more polarized because you wanted to keep on digging a hole in the wrong spot because it made sense to you.
It’s Impossible to Think Critically
If you’re seeking true personal growth then you need to improve your Critical Thinking. There is no way around this.
But the problem with Confirmation Bias is that it hinders critical thinking. It discourages analysis of one’s own beliefs because in doing so you might find out that you’re wrong.
Instead of questioning and always evaluating your thinking, you more readily accept the things that make you look right.
Personal growth comes from challenging our own assumptions and embracing new ideas. Confirmation bias creates a comfort zone that you don’t want to leave and if you never leave, you never grow.
Which Leads to Worse Decisions
The most successful people don’t always make the best decisions, but they do make the most clear ones. If you’re letting your Confirmation Bias guide you then you’re basing your decisions on incomplete or skewed information.