Confirmation bias vs availability
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One keeps the evidence you already wanted. The other trusts whatever comes to mind first.
Confirmation bias
Confirmation bias is the tendency to search for, remember, and accept what supports a view you already like, and to skim past what would hurt it. It is not a claim that every belief is stubborn. It is a pattern in how attention is spent.
You favour a view about study habits. You bookmark articles that agree and close the ones that do not, then feel well informed.
Open the cardAvailability bias
Availability bias judges how common something is by how easily examples come to mind. Vivid, recent, or personal cases feel frequent. A dull record of ordinary cases is harder to recall and gets underweighted.
You remember dramatic train delays and start to believe delays are very common, though the published record shows they are rare.
Open the cardHow to tell them apart
Confirmation bias is a filter. Agreeable evidence is kept. Awkward evidence is skipped or explained away. The story was partly chosen in advance.
Availability bias is a spotlight. A recent, vivid, or repeated example feels common because it is easy to recall. Nothing in that ease is a count.
They stack. A vivid case is easy to remember, and then you look only for more of it. The cure is not the same move twice. For confirmation, go find the awkward evidence. For availability, ask whether you have a count or only a story.
FAQ
What is Confirmation bias?
Confirmation bias is the tendency to search for, remember, and accept what supports a view you already like, and to skim past what would hurt it. It is not a claim that every belief is stubborn. It is a pattern in how attention is spent.
What is Availability bias?
Availability bias judges how common something is by how easily examples come to mind. Vivid, recent, or personal cases feel frequent. A dull record of ordinary cases is harder to recall and gets underweighted.
How do you tell Confirmation bias from Availability bias?
Confirmation bias is a filter. Agreeable evidence is kept. Awkward evidence is skipped or explained away. The story was partly chosen in advance.