Confirmation Bias, 4

Confirmation bias can often be seen in relation to highly charged issues such as those that involve or are related to religion, politics, race, gender, chauvinism, etc. But it can involve any personal belief. Bias assessments may be the fastest decisions the brain ever makes, occurring at nano-second speeds. They tend to be related to one’s personal perception of safety—physically, mentally, emotionally, sexually, ideologically, and so on. Again, no surprise, confirmation bias can impact the strength of one’s beliefs and behaviors related to inequality, bigotry, bullying, racism, chauvinism, and so on. If perchance, an individual’s brain is experiencing some imbalance, illness, or dysfunction, the confirmation bias may be so strong it triggers behaviors that can lead to injury or even death—especially toward another brain that harbors a different bias or little if any negative bias toward a specific ideology. More tomorrow.