If you already have an opinion about something before you’ve even tried to figure it out, chances are you’ll over-value information that confirms that opinion.
For example, if you think your partner is cheating, you may put a lot of weight on small pieces of “evidence,” like them coming home late from work. To combat this tendency, you might ask yourself, “What evidence do I have that my partner’s not cheating?”
The best way to deal with this is to be aware of the confirmation trap and think about what kinds of information you would expect to find to support alternative outcomes.
