If you have ever heard someone say something that completely disagreed with your own understanding of a topic and immediately dismissed it as, “Oh, that can’t possibly be true!” then you have been guilty of confirmation bias.

Confirmation bias is a cognitive process in which the brain unconsciously uses a system of defenses to protect you from potentially incorrect knowledge or information. The mind will automatically try to reject new information and instead seek evidence to support the current belief.



This entire process can happen in a moment, and it can be helpful in quickly identifying direct threats (scams, liars, false reports), but it can also be a hindrance when you need to fully understand a multi-faceted problem and seek potentially conflicting evidence.

Overcoming confirmation bias can be difficult, but psychologists have determined that some biases can be corrected by applying a deliberate process to problem-solving and decision-making. Try these approaches to help you neutralize your confirmation bias in daily leadership activities:

Recognize the problem

This means understanding when you are more prone to confirmation bias (see overconfidence), identifying the process while it is occurring, and being able to stop yourself mid-process and seek more information.

Be wary of overconfidence

The more certain you are about an opinion, the more likely you are to employ confirmation bias to avoid proving yourself wrong. Sometimes the best time to expose yourself to opposing views is when you are most certain you already have all the information you need to make a decision.

Look for contrary evidence

Even when you are truly trying to understand a circumstance from all sides, it is only natural that you will unconsciously seek information to support your own hypothesis, and that inclination will bias whatever evidence you find.

Collecting examples of cases where you’re right doesn’t help to know where you might be wrong. You will learn more if you search for evidence to disprove your theory, rather than evidence that confirms it. And if you can’t find evidence to disprove it, you will feel more confident that the confirmation is true and accurate.

Vet your sources

Develop standards for deciding how much to rely on any one source — whether it be an expert opinion, a reference manual, a government website, or an eyewitness account. Look for signs of confirmation bias in your sources. Do they neglect facts or fail to acknowledge the opposing arguments, or dismiss contradictory studies?

Look for balanced and fair representations, or at the very least, make sure you consider how the motivation and bias of the source impacts the information shared.

Be open to alterations

When you find evidence that contradicts your opinion, don’t assume you must either reject the evidence or abandon your opinion. Instead, consider modifying incorrect aspects of your original theory.