I had a friend once say to me–\u201dwhy are some people so emotional?\u00a0 Why can\u2019t we all be more rational?\u201d\u00a0 And being the educator and mental skills coach that I am, I took his response quite literally by asking a series of questions.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Human judgement is unreliable.\u00a0 This has been documented dating back to the 1600\u2019s by English philosopher Sir Francis Bacon (Nickerson, 1998).\u00a0 Researchers today have come to describe these errors as <\/span>cognitive biases<\/span><\/i>, or shortcuts that our brain makes in order to be more efficient (Ariely, 2009; Reivich & Shatte, 2002).\u00a0 In fact, our brain is constantly interpreting information for us without our permission.\u00a0 One particular cognitive bias is what is known as <\/span>confirmation bias<\/span><\/i>. \u00a0 It is the tendency to look for evidence that is supportive of a hypothesis one favors while failing to recognize and identify evidence that might falsify said hypothesis (Nickerson, 1998).\u00a0 In other words, it\u2019s a tendency to value and remember things that support one\u2019s belief system while pushing aside, forgetting, or failing to recognize things that do not support one\u2019s belief system.\u00a0 If I believe that all pitbulls are dangerous, I am more likely to seek out evidence that supports that belief rather than seek out evidence contrary to that belief.\u00a0 I am more likely to remember the news story about the child who was attacked by a pitbull rather than the dozens and dozens of pitbulls I have passed in the park that were playful and otherwise non-dangerous.\u00a0 I am less likely to listen to and value statistics about the number of pitbull attacks but more likely to hear ambiguous information such as \u201cdog attack\u201d and immediately assume that it was a pitbull.\u00a0 The confirmation bias puts blinders on me.\u00a0 It blocks my ability to be objective and seek any counterproof to my hypothesis.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The confirmation bias impacts me during every waking moment.\u00a0 And it impacts you and everyone else too.\u00a0 So, what does this mean??\u00a0 Well, it means that every human being has a different filtering system and these filtering systems are not always accurate.\u00a0 It means that each person is tricked by their brain; tricked into believing what they see and assuming it to be true. This can be dangerous, especially in today’s time.<\/span><\/p>\n So, how does it work, as my friend has asked.\u00a0 It operates on our beliefs. Essentially, beliefs are anything that we deem to be true of ourselves and\/or the world.\u00a0 They come from how we were raised, our environments, critical life events, education, and much more.\u00a0 Reivich & Shatte (2002) describe beliefs by using a metaphoric iceberg.\u00a0 We all have beliefs above the surface, meaning we are aware of them.\u00a0 For me, that could be that \u201cThe sky is blue,\u201d \u201cI am a man,\u201d \u201cI love steak,\u201d or \u201cI dislike cottage cheese.\u201d\u00a0 These beliefs are true for me AND they are above my surface of awareness.\u00a0 If you think about an iceberg, the majority exists below the surface and that, according to Reivich & Shatte (2002), is precisely where many of our strongest beliefs exist.\u00a0 So, if the confirmation bias is operating on our beliefs and the majority of our beliefs are out of our awareness. So, what does this say about our own objectivity and our own sense of justice\/fairness of the world and others?\u00a0 <\/span>Our judgement can be impaired<\/span><\/i>.\u00a0 (<\/span>And this was the point in the story that really got my friends attention<\/b>). If we never explore\/go below the surface to better understand why we think the way we do, we will maintain rigid thinking patterns.\u00a0 And science tells us that rigid thinking can undermine resilience, trust, and a sense of community\u2014all things that leaders, managers, and CEO\u2019s want to cultivate (Ariely, 2009; Reivich & Shatte, 2002).\u00a0 For those of you who have read <\/span>Deliberate Discomfort<\/span>, I encourage you to look back at chapters two and three to learn more about some self-awareness strategies.<\/span><\/p>\n Going back to my fictitious example of the belief that \u201call pitbulls are dangerous\u201d it is very likely that that belief is below the surface–meaning, I do not exactly know I am behaving under that belief.\u00a0 I could continue to form assumptions about pitbulls, argue with folks about statistics, and change the way I live simply by having this belief that is below my awareness.\u00a0 It\u2019s not until I or someone I trust can point out my belief and point out exceptions and remove my blinders, I begin to see a more true story.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Another common place for below the surface beliefs are one\u2019s about ourselves; perhaps we might think \u201cI am not good enough,\u201d \u201cNobody gets me,\u201d \u201cMen cannot act that way,\u201d \u201cI have no chance to get out of my situation.\u201d\u00a0 These beliefs may be strong below the surface icebergs that disrupt our ability to be objective about ourselves and about our environment (Reivich & Shatte, 2002).\u00a0 The deadly effect of these internal beliefs often keep us from meeting our true potential.\u00a0 They might also coerce us into pointing fingers, playing the victim card, or shaming others.\u00a0 Take a look at your social media feed, the news coverage, or talk shows for real life examples of this.<\/span><\/p>\n At this point, my friend who appeared to be soaking it all up curtly asked, \u201cSo what can I do about it?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n So, what to do about it\u2026you are now at least aware of this cognitive bias and understand that our confirmation bias is operating at all times..\u00a0 The first question to ask yourself, where does this show up for me?<\/span><\/p>\n Ariely, D.<\/span> (2009). <\/span>Predictably irrational<\/span>. New York, NY: Harper Collins.<\/span><\/p>\n Nickerson, R. S. (1998). Confirmation bias: A ubiquitous phenomenon in many guises. <\/span>Review of general psychology<\/span><\/i>, <\/span>2<\/span><\/i>(2), 175-220.<\/span><\/p>\n Reivich, K., & Shatt\u00e9, A. (2002). <\/span>The resilience factor: 7 essential skills for overcoming life’s inevitable obstacles<\/span><\/i>. Broadway books.<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” column_margin=”default” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″ shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_link_target=”_self” column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” width=”1\/1″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” overlay_strength=”0.3″ column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid” bg_image_animation=”none”][image_with_animation image_url=”1310″ alignment=”” animation=”Fade In” hover_animation=”none” border_radius=”none” box_shadow=”none” image_loading=”default” max_width=”100%” max_width_mobile=”default”][nectar_btn size=”small” open_new_tab=”true” button_style=”regular” button_color_2=”Accent-Color” icon_family=”none” url=”https:\/\/missionsixzero.com\/our-team\/sean-swallen\/” text=”Author Profile”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” column_margin=”default” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″ shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_link_target=”_self” column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” width=”1\/1″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” overlay_strength=”0.3″ column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid” bg_image_animation=”none”][divider line_type=”Full Width Line” line_thickness=”1″ divider_color=”default”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I had a friend once say to me–\u201dwhy are some people so emotional?\u00a0 Why can\u2019t we all be more rational?\u201d\u00a0 And being the educator and mental skills coach that I am, I took his response quite literally by asking a series of questions.\u00a0<\/p>\n Have you ever made an assumption about another person that turned out to be wrong?\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":2532,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,22],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n
Now What?<\/h3>\n
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