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Stephen Colbert popularized the phrase, “It’s a well-known fact that reality has a liberal bias.” It’s the kind of sloganeering that’s caused many a progressive liberal to adopt a smug, self-satisfied view of the world with a sense of certainty that stands unfaltering—until faced with dissent.
New research (via New Scientist) shows that leftists are every bit as deluded those they mock, and that they’re just as prone to confirmation bias as their political opponents. A new study published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology found that both liberals and conservatives are equally likely to dismiss opposing viewpoints on contentious issues like gun control, climate change, and abortion.
Members from either end of the ideological spectrum are similarly motivated to avoid information that conflicts with their own beliefs. Participants in the study anticipated that “crosscutting information” would cause them frustration and harm their relationships with others. They went out of their way to avoid the topic—even turning down a chance to win money to avoid hearing opinions they disliked. No one wants to listen to the other side.
On the Social Science Research Network, a meta-analysis based on 41 experimental studies of partisan bias in both liberals and conservatives arrived at similar conclusions. The findings concluded that bias is a bipartisan problem, and that leftists are just as prone to indulging in confirmation bias to the same extent as their conservative counterparts.
Given that progressives often tout themselves as purveyors of science and education, partaking in events like the recent March for Science, one would expect them to readily embrace scientific views.
Read more here. (Heat Street)
Original Source (Behind Paywall, New Scientist)
New research (via New Scientist) shows that leftists are every bit as deluded those they mock, and that they’re just as prone to confirmation bias as their political opponents. A new study published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology found that both liberals and conservatives are equally likely to dismiss opposing viewpoints on contentious issues like gun control, climate change, and abortion.
Members from either end of the ideological spectrum are similarly motivated to avoid information that conflicts with their own beliefs. Participants in the study anticipated that “crosscutting information” would cause them frustration and harm their relationships with others. They went out of their way to avoid the topic—even turning down a chance to win money to avoid hearing opinions they disliked. No one wants to listen to the other side.
On the Social Science Research Network, a meta-analysis based on 41 experimental studies of partisan bias in both liberals and conservatives arrived at similar conclusions. The findings concluded that bias is a bipartisan problem, and that leftists are just as prone to indulging in confirmation bias to the same extent as their conservative counterparts.
Given that progressives often tout themselves as purveyors of science and education, partaking in events like the recent March for Science, one would expect them to readily embrace scientific views.
Read more here. (Heat Street)
Original Source (Behind Paywall, New Scientist)
