<p>As a generalization, people have a bias towards believing what is convenient to them and/or doesn't challenge their worldview. I believe (though correct me if I'm wrong) this is linked to status quo bias, confirmation bias and cognitive dissonance.</p>

<p>Has there been any attempt to quantify this numerically? e.g. in a specific experimental situation, with existing bias and a certain level of new information, how likely are people to pick the convenient/status quo interpretation of phenomena over the correct one? </p>

<p>If so, has there been any attempt to generalize this to other environments e.g. numerically predict the level of bias based on other quantifiable facts about the situation?</p>

<p><em>Not a duplicate as I am asking for a numerical model of the bias not just a name for it.</em></p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-02-28T23:11:33.420Z
Possible duplicate of [What is the psychological term for disregarding correct but unwanted information?](http://cogsci.stackexchange.com/questions/12416/what-is-the-psychological-term-for-disregarding-correct-but-unwanted-information)
Chris Rogers
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-03-01T11:34:00.617Z
There [is another similar one I asked a long time ago](http://cogsci.stackexchange.com/q/117/21), but also does not address any form of quantification.
Steven Jeuris
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-05-10T22:50:51.907Z
Interesting question, though the second piece requires a "correct" answer (in a situation where multiple individuals have different views on what the correct answer is). Not sure it _could_ be answered without defining the researcher's view (or popular view) as "correct"
mflo-ByeSE
<statistics><bias>
Quantification of tendency for people to believe what is convenient
Sideshow Bob
# Quantification of tendency for people to believe what is convenient

(Asked by: username_0 on 2017-02-28)

As a generalization, people have a bias towards believing what is convenient to them and/or doesn't challenge their worldview. I believe (though correct me if I'm wrong) this is linked to status quo bias, confirmation bias and cognitive dissonance.

Has there been any attempt to quantify this numerically? e.g. in a specific experimental situation, with existing bias and a certain level of new information, how likely are people to pick the convenient/status quo interpretation of phenomena over the correct one?

If so, has there been any attempt to generalize this to other environments e.g. numerically predict the level of bias based on other quantifiable facts about the situation?

*Not a duplicate as I am asking for a numerical model of the bias not just a name for it.*

**Tags:** statistics, bias

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Possible duplicate of [What is the psychological term for disregarding correct but unwanted information?](http://cogsci.stackexchange.com/questions/12416/what-is-the-psychological-term-for-disregarding-correct-but-unwanted-information)  
> **username_2**: There [is another similar one I asked a long time ago](http://cogsci.stackexchange.com/q/117/21), but also does not address any form of quantification.  
> **username_3**: Interesting question, though the second piece requires a "correct" answer (in a situation where multiple individuals have different views on what the correct answer is). Not sure it _could_ be answered without defining the researcher's view (or popular view) as "correct"  

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