Blind Spots – Confirmation Bias & the HBDI®

We’ve heard a lot about different biases for many years… From racism, sexism and bigotry to more current efforts that help us understand our Unconscious Biases in all its forms. One of those forms is Confirmation Bias, where we look for information that helps us to validate our assumptions and existing opinions.

Psychology Today describes Confirmation Bias as occurring “from the direct influence of desire on beliefs. When people would like a certain idea/concept to be true, they end up believing it to be true. They are motivated by wishful thinking. This error leads the individual to stop gathering information when the evidence gathered so far confirms the views (prejudices) one would like to be true”.

To make matters worse, technology and our social media platforms are driving information to us through our LIKES and search patterns that further confirms our interests, views and biases. They do this through analyzing our data and patterns; then driving ads and news articles to us that may further confirm our beliefs. It has the potential to make our worlds smaller unless we actively begin to broaden our perspectives by looking to understand how others think and their points of view.

Key Takeaways: The HBDI® methodology can be an excellent first step to assist us in broadening our horizons and expand our thinking. Consciously looking for new understanding that helps us further our world views, ideas and opinions is the way we begin to change. We do this through listening and being attuned to hearing through our own preferences as well as communicating back to others in language they can hear. When it comes to any biases we hold, our pre-established “proof set” for our beliefs is triggered when others say confirming things. That is not always wrong, it just means we should be inquisitive about our responses and remain open to HEARING additional information from other ways of thinking. Deliberately seeking out others who have different profiles than ours requires discipline and agility. Remaining open to this keeps us from seeking others who rubber stamp our ideas and natural human tendencies toward confirmation bias.

Tell us your story…We’d like to hear from you on what you’ve learned about your tendencies towards confirmation bias or handling any potential blind spots. Email me or click here to share more in the comments section on our Top Tips page. Others may learn from your story and what you share.