Confirmation Bias and The Power of Attention
By Clara Farres
None of us live in an objective world. The world I see is different from the world you see,
and it’s quite impossible to share your world with anyone else. To put this into perspective, consider an example mentioned in a book I recently read. Water from a well stays at the same
temperature all year round – about 60 degrees. This number is objective, it stays the same for everyone who measures it. However, to an individual who drinks this in the summer, the water seems cool. The same water in the winter might seem warm to someone else. Although it’s the same water, at the same sixty degrees, the way it seems depends on whether it’s summer or winter. To any individual at that moment, the coolness or warmth of the water is an undeniable fact.
This is what it means to live in your subjective world. There’s no escape from your own subjectivity, and thus the issue is not about how the world is, to some extent, but rather about how you interpret the world. This understanding of subjective interpretations serves as a foundational concept for exploring confirmation bias, the power of attention, and the significance of perspective.
Confirmation bias, which influences our thinking and decision-making, is the tendency to
search for, interpret, and remember information in a way that confirms our preconceptions, our
worries and fears, while frequently disregarding contradictory evidence. If you see the world
through dark glasses, everything seems dark. In the context of anxiety, this confirmation bias is
closely related to discomfort with uncertainty. When faced with unknown outcomes, our minds
tend to envision the worst-case scenario as a coping mechanism. This thought process leads to
catastrophic thinking, a prominent feature of anxiety disorders (or simple everyday worries!).
This predisposition to focus on negative outcomes is a clear manifestation of our subjective interpretation of reality. It highlights how our individual lenses, shaped by our worries and fears,
influence the way we perceive and react to information.
The power of attention holds a crucial role in shaping our thought patterns and behaviors. Our choices regarding the environment we cultivate, the content we consume, and the company we keep have an influence on our thought patterns and behaviors. This is a reminder that our thoughts are not isolated; they are deeply connected to our daily experiences, interactions, and expectations. Dwelling on negativity and complaints initiates a self-reinforcing cycle of pessimism. When our attention becomes fixated on uneasy thoughts or improbable worst-case scenarios, it intensifies the emotional impact, whether it’s manifested in our thoughts or in our reactions to unlikely circumstances. Our ability to focus our attention and select our mental environment is a direct reflection, again, of subjective interpretation. Our choices influence the lens through which we see the world.
I hope that this article emphasizes the importance of perspective and the essentiality of recognizing that our thought patterns are responsible for the way we view and interpret the world. Transforming our mindset often requires external influences and the framing of alternative thought patterns. The most fulfilled individuals are often those who explore new perspectives, read widely, and surround themselves with admirable individuals. This allows for the expansion of perspective beyond our own “dark-colored glasses.” Our thoughts and emotions create individualized and complex networks of neural pathways in our brains, and we have the capacity to actively shape this network for the better. By fostering a growth-oriented mindset, we can influence the paths our thoughts will follow. Recognizing our subjectivity and actively choosing to broaden our perspective are pivotal steps in this transformative process.
