Truth by Hector Macdonald - confirmation bias

Mindsets are flexible in some respects. The part of our mindset that is concerned with quinoa will be very receptive to the first thing we hear about the foodstuff. We are easily influenced when we know nothing about a subject.

 

But once we have established a view on quinoa, once our mindset is settled, it can be surprisingly hard to shift. If, three months after we've been told that quinoa farming is damaging the Andes, someone mentions the nutritional benefits of the seeds, we are quite likely to ignore, doubt or dismiss that information. 

 

This is a form of confirmation bias: we tend to be more receptive to new truths that fit with our existing mindsets, and resistant to those that challenge our entrenched views (11).