How does confirmation bias influence our decision-making?

Confirmation bias is when we like what we already know and ignore things that might be different.

Imagine you have a favorite toy, let’s say it's a red ball. Every time you play with it, it bounces really high, so you think only red balls are good. But one day, your friend shows you a blue ball, and it bounces even higher! Instead of thinking the blue ball is better, you might say, “No way, my red ball is still the best!” That’s confirmation bias at work.

We all have favorite things, like our favorite snack or the person we sit with at lunch. When we see something that matches what we already believe, it feels good and safe. But when something new comes along, especially if it doesn’t match our beliefs, we might not pay attention to it, or we might even ignore it completely.

This happens a lot in decision-making. If you think your favorite team is the best, you’ll probably believe everything about them and forget all the times they lost. You might pick their shirts, eat their snacks, and even say they’re better than other teams, just because that’s what you already believe.

So confirmation bias helps us stick with what we know, but it can also stop us from seeing new, exciting things!