As UX researchers,
it's likely you've become aware of a variety of biases
that affect user behaviors.
I've even recorded a video on survey response biases.
Understanding biases in others
can help you predict future behaviors,
and that's really cool.
But if you want to be a great UX practitioner,
you should be able to do more
than identify biases in others.
You should also be able to identify biases in your own work.
Confirmation bias describes our tendency to seek out, favor,
and recall information
that conforms to our existing beliefs.
In UX, confirmation bias
can impact the way we gather information
and influence the way we interpret and remember it.
Before I say more,
I want you to know that being aware of these biases
does not make you immune to experiencing them.
However, you can minimize the effects
of some of these biases by understanding them
and reflecting on your own craft as a researcher.
That said, let's consider how confirmation bias
can impact the way we seek out information.
So let's imagine you need to make a design decision
on the type of input to use in a form.
Maybe you have some preconceived belief
on which option is better,
and perhaps even an expert that you follow
wrote an article praising that specific input type
for your situation.
So, based on that existing knowledge,
you decide to go forward with your choice
without seeking much additional information
or research on the topic.
That's confirmation bias.
Now I will say, in that scenario,
it doesn't mean you made the wrong decision,
but you might have, though you won't know that
until you test or find information
that validates or invalidates it.
My biggest tip to minimize the presence
of confirmation bias in these scenarios is to take the time
to approach the problem from multiple perspectives.
Get inspired by existing literature
and find objective and reliable sources
that provide facts over opinions.
Don't ignore information that challenges your beliefs.
Consider various sides of a topic
and understand the strengths and weaknesses of each option.
The confirmation bias is not limited
to seeking out information.
It can also influence how we interpret and remember it.
Let's say you're wrapping up a qualitative usability test
of your mobile app.
Perhaps as a researcher on the team,
you've wanted to redesign a certain feature.
Let's call it the search.
This inclination may influence the way you interpret
and communicate those findings.
For example, in the study,
let's say you discover a lot of users struggling
to use various features, but not many on the search.
However, due to your existing belief
that the search is problematic, you may give more weight
to the small search-related problems you observed.
Similarly, when you look back on the study,
let's say a stakeholder asks you about your top takeaways,
you may have a tendency to highlight areas
that conform to your existing beliefs,
like the search is problematic.
To minimize confirmation bias in this context,
avoid jumping to conclusions.
Create hypothesis, yes,
but during the study, focus on what's really happening,
not what you believe or hope is happening.
As you document findings from your research,
keep them rooted in data.
Additionally, consider using severity scores,
which help you communicate the severity of each issue.
Biases like the confirmation bias
are a natural human tendency.
These biases allow us to act quickly,
given limited amounts of information.
Even if you believe yourself
to be incredibly open-minded and intelligent,
you're bound to experience these biases.
Your goal is not to omit any biases from your work,
but rather to recognize, reflect, and reduce their impact.