Confirmation Bias

Group 9
Understanding Bias
Why They Exist
Bias arises from various processes that are sometimes
difficult to distinguish. These include
 information-processing shortcuts (heuristics)
 noisy information processing (distortions in the process
of storage in and retrieval from memory)
 the brain's limited information processing capacity
 emotional and moral motivations[
 social influence

Biases have been categorized under various different

types, in this presentation we would be focusing on
one of the Cognitive Biases .
Understanding Confirmation
Bias
Countering Confirmation
Bias What do you
think about
this strategy?

Thanks for
bringing that up
!!
 A few Examples

For:

 Crime rate has increased.

 Not safe to travel at
night.
 Same is the case with
every city or part of the
world.
 Do not travel alone.
Against:

Spending money on projects like “Statue of

Unity” and “Bullet Train” is not appreciated.

It would have been better if PM had

Statue of Unity
distributed this money to poor people.

Distributing 3000 Cr to 125 Cr people in

India makes Rs. 25 per person.

Do you think it would have brought some

difference in the lives of poor if this money
was distributed among them?
Bullet Train
Consumer Behavior - Examples
For
Casinos leverage the confirmation
biases of many gamblers to make
profits.
Gamblers once they win initially,
think that they are lucky enough
to game the system and win
against the house.
As a result they keep on playing
bigger and bigger stakes and
though they might win or lose, the
house always wins.
Against
the CEO of my company had a hunch
for launching a revolutionary product
and directs the market research team
to conduct the feasibility study
In this scenario, the CEO was using the
research to build justification of his
preconceived notions and beliefs
On top of that, he was asking his
subordinates to support or disprove his
judgement
The team was likely to conform with
their superior’s beliefs and make him
happy.
Consumer Behavior - Examples
 How Colgate Advertises
 People associate
doctors/dentists with health.
 Being a low involvement
product, this confirmation is
enough to prompt sales.
 Success of Patanjali
 Although there were many
other products like Khadi,
Himalaya etc consumers
associated quickly with Baba
Ramdev Yoga Guru image
with Health and fitness.
 Further reading

Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_c
ognitive_biases