PSYC 2103 Lecture Notes - Lecture 12: Confirmation Bias

• School: Acadia University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSYC 2103
• Professor: Diane Holmberg

Document Summary

Sig(cid:374)s of g(cid:396)oupthi(cid:374)k: illusio(cid:374) of i(cid:374)(cid:448)ul(cid:374)e(cid:396)a(cid:271)ilit(cid:455) (cid:894)people a(cid:396)e positi(cid:448)e that the(cid:455)"(cid:396)e (cid:272)o(cid:396)(cid:396)e(cid:272)t so the(cid:455) do(cid:374)"t e(cid:448)e(cid:374) (cid:272)o(cid:374)side(cid:396) the idea that the(cid:455) (cid:272)ould (cid:271)e (cid:449)(cid:396)o(cid:374)g(cid:895). People tend to be close minded: only look at info that confirms their point of view (confirmation bias). Pressures toward uniformity (people will be disliked if they go against the group), this happens early on, people see others go through this and start self-censoring (not just opinions but facts as well). This leads to illusion of unanimity: seems like everyone is on board. To a(cid:448)oid this: e(cid:374)su(cid:396)e the(cid:396)e a(cid:396)e (cid:272)ha(cid:374)(cid:374)els (cid:449)he(cid:396)e it"s okay for people to express doubts/different opinions. Individualistic cultures tend to be wary of groupthink. How to foster liking: be available/nearby (mere proximity is a really good predictor of liking), functional distance (if cross paths frequently, more likely to become friends). Part of it has to do with mere exposure (familiarity breeds liking)