Recently, the news has repeated use of the term confirmation bias as the conversation continues about political divides following the shooting on the congressional baseball practice field. Adding this term to the public lexicon could be really good for us as Americans while we work toward better critical thinking (and creative thinking) about wicked problems we want to address together.
Might we be able to open our minds to the values, beliefs and ideas of those who think differently from us rather than holding on tightly to our current understandings? During the last election cycle, media representatives repeated the term "doubling down" often and you may have noticed the uptick in its use during everyday life. Perhaps the media can offer us a societal uptick in resisting confirmation bias if they double down on the use of this term?
Confirmation Bias
"Confirmation bias, as the term is typically used in the psychological literature, connotes the seeking or interpreting of evidence in ways that are partial to existing beliefs, expectations, or a hypothesis in hand." (http://psy2.ucsd.edu/~mckenzie/nickersonConfirmationBias.pdf)
Critical Thinking
"Critical thinking examines assumptions, discerns hidden values, evaluates evidence, and assesses conclusions." (http://isites.harvard.edu/fs/docs/icb.topic265890.files/Critical_Thinking_File/06_CT_Extended_Definition.pdf)
Wicked Problems
"A wicked problem is a social or cultural problem that is difficult or impossible to solve for as many as four reasons: incomplete or contradictory knowledge, the number of people and opinions involved, the large economic burden, and the interconnected nature of these problems with other problems." (https://ssir.org/articles/entry/wicked_problems_problems_worth_solving#)
