# Cognitive bias question

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cognitive-bias-question/513890>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [October 15, 2009, 9:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cognitive-bias-question/513890 "2009-10-15T09:23:21Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![jakesteele](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ed8c4c/32.png) [@jakesteele](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jakesteele)\
**Post date:** [October 15, 2009, 9:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cognitive-bias-question/513890/1 "2009-10-15T09:23:21Z")

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If a confirmation bias is seeing what you **want** to see, then what would you call the bias or expectation of seeing what you are **used** to seeing?

In other words, if someone wants to see UFOs they will tend to interpret visual data to conform to that expectation, but also, if we are so used to seeing something as always being a specific thing but one day it’s somewhat different but we still see it as the same old same old, what do you call this type of bias?

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**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\
**Post date:** [October 15, 2009, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cognitive-bias-question/513890/2 "2009-10-15T11:47:04Z")

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> **[List of cognitive biases](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cognitive_biases)**
>
> Cognitive biases are systematic patterns of deviation from norm and/or rationality in judgment. They are often studied in psychology, sociology and behavioral economics.
> Although the reality of most of these biases is confirmed by reproducible research, there are often controversies about how to classify these biases or how to explain them. Several theoretical causes are known for some cognitive biases, which provides a classification of biases by their common generative mechanism (such as noisy...

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**Author:** ![Serenata67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/serenata67/32/10646_2.png) [@Serenata67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Serenata67)\
**Post date:** [October 15, 2009, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cognitive-bias-question/513890/3 "2009-10-15T14:01:48Z")

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> [@Joe Frickin Friday](#):
>
> [List of cognitive biases - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cognitive_biases)

That list is hours of fun! I can’t wait to delve in! 😃

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**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\
**Post date:** [October 15, 2009, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cognitive-bias-question/513890/4 "2009-10-15T16:53:11Z")

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Seeing what you want and what you are used to are essentially the same thing and both are covered by confirmation bias. Seeing what you _expect_ might be a better way to put it.

So a UFO believer expects to see a UFO (not in the sense that they’re certain it will happen, but in the sense that we all expect that someone will win the lottery). Likewise, the guy who is used to BMW drivers being rich and educated is going to expect to see those things. In both cases, confirmation bias affects the things you consciously notice and how you interpret those things.