Cognitive Dissonance and Confirmation Bias

There is another rising danger threatening the creation and development of a justice society. There are two intellectual traps that have the power to polarize driving a wedge between you and me.

Cognitive dissonance. When we have a deep belief that’s shown not to be true, we get uncomfortable. To deal with that discomfort we seek moral and social support so that we can continue to hold onto the belief we’ve invested ourselves in.

Confirmation bias: The tendency to interpret new evidence as confirmation of one's existing beliefs or theories. We don’t perceive circumstances objectively. We pick out those bits of data that make us feel good because they confirm our prejudices.

It's a good idea to be aware of our tendency to fall into these two self-deceptive traps. It is hard to avoid "group think." It is hard to be objective.  Yet this is the path we must walk to find the truth."