Tips for avoiding the confirmation bias

Confirmation bias leads us to seek out information to support our existing point of view while avoiding information that contradicts it.

As Kare Anderson points out in her post Trick Your Brain Into Making Smarter Choices, "...two of the more subtle, pervasive ways we let our rush of first emotions bias our better, more balanced judgment..."

1. Our tendency to subconsciously decide what we want to do before we figure out why we want to do it.
2. Our inclination to be more engaged by things we like than by things we dislike.

How can you avoid these traps?

• Always check to see whether you are examining all the evidence with equal rigor.
• Avoid the tendency to accept confirming evidence without question.
  
• Get someone to play devil’s advocate.
• Ask what’s the strongest reason to make a different choice.