Which one of the following illustrates confirmation bias?
A)Barak feels much better when his teacher gives him a high rather than low grade on a writing assignment.He gets depressed when he thinks that his work is anything less than perfect.
B)When Lavina reads about the migratory behavior of Canada geese, she is very curious about why the geese travel along certain routes flyways).She spends an entire evening searching the Internet for a scientific explanation of their behavior.
C)In his geography class, Carlos likes the unit on South America more than the unit on Africa because his grandfather was born and raised in Colombia.
D)Jayne thinks that metal objects always sink.When she places an aluminum pie plate in a tub of water and sees that it floats, she says, "It only looks like aluminum; it must be plastic with silver paint on it."

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The scenario in option D demonstrates confirmation bias because Jayne has a pre-existing belief that metal objects always sink. When she encounters a metal object that does not sink (the aluminum pie plate), she adjusts her perception of reality to fit her pre-existing belief (she claims it must be plastic with silver paint on it). This illustrates how people tend to seek out information that confirms their existing beliefs and discount information that challenges them.

Which One of the Following Illustrates Confirmation Bias