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Confirmation and Disconfirmation Bias

People often have strong beliefs about issues. They tend to prioritize information that seems to support their beliefs. They tend to discount information that does not support their beliefs. They tend to discount information that does not support their beliefs. The tendency to view information from the perspective of their existing beliefs is a bias. Judgment often is affected by two biases: confirmation bias and disconfirmation bias. If you are aware of your own confirmation and disconfirmation biases, you can improve your ability to make judgments and decisions. If you are more open-minded and adhere less to your beliefs, your judgments will be more objective. With more objective judgment, you likely will make better decisions.

To prepare for this Discussion:

• Review the film trailer and photographs for An Inconvenient Truth and the article, "Facts and Fictions of Al Gore's 'An Inconvenent Truth." Pay particular attention to the issues of global warming.
• Review the website "An Inconvenient Truth." View the trailer and facts of the movie and think about the concerns regarding global warming.
• Using the Walden Library or the internet, select an article which supports your views on global warming.
• Think about the problem of global warming and consider the following: Is it man-made? Is it a serious problem? Does it require immediate action? Is it a political issue with little scientific basis? If you do not already have an opinion, seek out information and form one.
• Based on the Learning Resources and the article you selected about about global warming, note the facts that support your opinion.
• Then note the facts that oppose your opinion.
• Think about how confirmation bias and disconfirmation bias influenced your judgment of the information presented in the global warming resources.

With these thoughts in mind:

Post by Day 4 your opinion about global warming, including your beliefs about whether it is man-made, is a serious problem, requires immediate action, or is a political issue with little scientific basis. Using the article you selected, explain the facts that support your opinion about global warming. Then, explain how confirmation bias and disconfirmation bias influenced your judgment of teh information provided.

Be sure to support your postings and responses with specific references to the Learning Resources.