The Bias That Divides Us: The Science and Politics of Myside Thinking by Keith E. Stanovich. Keith is Emeritus Professor of Applied Psychology and Human Development at the University of Toronto and former Canada Research Chair of Applied Cognitive Science.
He is the author of over 200 scientific articles and seven books. He received his BA degree in psychology from Ohio State University in 1973 and his PhD in psychology from the University of Michigan in 1977.
Since the beginning of the pandemic I have read quite extensively. This one really makes me think deeply about bias. Dr. Stanovich is providing a lot of insights when addressing bias. In addition, the writings address the political polarization that is tearing this country apart. This is a deep dive, it should really consume your time in addressing myside bias.
He is certainly addressing “myside bias” which is more commonly refereed to as confirmation bias. In fact, Myside bias is an outlier. It is very interesting to understand many, including very intelligent people do fall victim to this bias. However this is complex. One element of myside bias is less than impactful to impact our testable beliefs. These bias are easily checked against empirical reality.
At the same time, this bias is not really a psychological characteristic, but rather more ‘domain’ specific. The more an individual believe in a proposition, it is much more likely they will exhibit a bias. As an example, a moderately pro-life or pro-choice individual may not induce bias. However if that person is a true believer in either stance, they are more likely to exhibit this bias.
Lessons to overcome bias
Dr. Stanovich is certainly delivering very clear arguments. At the same time, he is suggesting we need to separate our empirical beliefs from our values.
This follows Bias Interrupted as a wonderful book addressing bias.
What can we learn? Dr. Stanovich provides in the final Chapter “What Should We Do about Myside Bias?” the following ideas:
1. Avoid the Bias Blind Spot of the Cognitive Elites
2. Recognize That, within Yourself, You Have Conflicting Values
3. Recognize That, in the Realm of Ideas, Myside Bias Causes an Obesity Epidemic of the Mind
4. Treat Your Beliefs Less Like Possessions by Realizing “You Didn’t Think Your Way to That”
5. Be Aware That Myside Bias Flourishes in Environments of Ambiguity and Complexity
6. Avoid Activating Convictions by Resisting Unprincipled Bundling
7. Be Aware That Partisan Tribalism Is Making You More Mysided Than Political Issues Are
8. Oppose Identity Politics Because It Magnifies Myside Bias
9. Rebuilding the University as a Corrective to Myside Bias
In conclusion, Chapter 6 should be required re-reading alone. It is packed with so much information. There is a lot to tackle. His research around Tribalism is also certainly interesting. To be fair, his research took me a lot of time to digest. I almost want to read it again from page 1. Yes, it is that good!