Principlev1

Use 'consider the opposite' as a deliberate practice before

Use 'consider the opposite' as a deliberate practice before finalizing judgments to counteract confirmation bias by forcing processing of disconfirming evidence.

Why This Is a Principle

This principle derives from Belief Perseverance Against Contradictory Evidence (belief perseverance) and Automatic Narrative Generation Precedes Conscious Evaluation (automatic narrative generation). It prescribes a specific cognitive intervention (construct the opposite case) that interrupts the automatic confirmation process. Lord, Lepper, and Preston demonstrated this reduces biased assimilation.

Source Lessons

L-0158

Know your systematic biases

Everyone has specific recurring distortions — identify yours. Generic bias literacy is not enough. You need a personal bias profile: the particular set of systematic errors your brain commits most frequently, in the specific domains where those errors cost you the most.

Connections

Derived From (2)

AxiomAutomatic Narrative Generation Precedes Conscious Evaluation AxiomBelief Perseverance Against Contradictory Evidence

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