Studies have shown that when people are presented with facts that contradict what they believe, the parts of the brain that control reason and rationality go inactive, but the parts of the brain that process emotion are highly activated. This hard-wiring results in Confirmation Bias, a limitation in our thinking that can lead us to seek out information we already believe and ignore or minimize facts that threaten what we believe. By learning about confirmation bias, and pausing to reflect on their research behaviors, students can make efforts to mitigate the influence of this bias.

Students will learn about Confirmation Bias, and use simple reflection questions to mitigate the impact of this bias as they research different topics.