Confirmation Bias

Confirmation bias is a cognitive phenomenon where individuals tend to seek out information that confirms their existing beliefs while dismissing information that doesn't. This bias was studied by psychologist Peter Wason in 1960. He conducted an experiment where participants were asked to guess the rule behind a number sequence. 

Despite the rule being "a sequence of increasing numbers," participants formed hypotheses that aligned with their preconceived notion of "a sequence of even numbers." Wason's study initially supported the theory of confirmation bias, but subsequent analyses revealed that participants showed more flexibility in their thinking than Wason's conclusions suggested. This is ironic because in order to prove confirmation bias existed, he used confirmation bias. 

Similarly, in 1990, psychologist Ziva Kunda's did a study which found that participants did not consistently exhibit confirmation bias when presented with puzzles or challenges. These findings challenge the notion that confirmation bias is an unavoidable aspect of human cognition.

Contextual factors, for example the presence of different perspectives and critical thinking prompts, can minimize confirmation bias. When individuals are exposed to various viewpoints and are encouraged to consider alternative explanations, confirmation bias tends to decrease. In everyday life, however, people often lack access to well-rounded contextual information. This is especially prevalent in the age of social media where echo chambers can reinforce existing beliefs.

Moreover, the complexity of real-world issues, such as political, social, and economic matters, further complicates the idea of confirmation bias. Unlike controlled experiments conducted by psychologists, discussing these complex issues requires dealing with incomplete information and competing narratives. In the absence of clear feedback or objective measures, confirmation bias can thrive, creating echo chambers and hindering critical thinking.

The invention of technology, particularly social media platforms, has intensified the challenge of fighting confirmation bias. These platforms help the spread of curated content tailored to individual preferences, potentially reinforcing existing biases and limiting exposure to diverse perspectives. As a result, individuals may find themselves deep in echo chambers where their beliefs are constantly reaffirmed, further helping confirmation bias.

To minimize confirmation bias and avoid being trapped in echo chambers, people should actively seek out diverse perspectives and critically evaluate information. Engaging with conflicting viewpoints, encouraging open-mindedness, and fact-checking sources can help counteract the effects of confirmation bias. Additionally, promoting media literacy and critical thinking skills can encourage individuals to navigate complex issues with biases.

In conclusion, while confirmation bias remains a significant cognitive phenomenon, its prevalence and impact can be influenced by contextual factors and individual behaviors. By fostering an environment helpful to critical thinking and supporting exposure to diverse perspectives, individuals can minimize the effects of confirmation bias and create a more diverse understanding of the world.

For information about confirmation bias, I read this Psychology Today article, this website, and this UPenn article.

The Age of AI

Artificial intelligence is a form of automation that is taking over the world. Artificial intelligence and automation isn't just in manufacturing companies or far away jobs, you can find computers replacing workers in your local Panera or McDonalds. More and more cashier positions in fast food restaurants and grocery stores are being replaced by computers and self-checkouts. 

This is a huge convenience boost, as computers are faster than a cashier worker. However, not only do these computers take simple jobs that high school students could take to strengthen their social skills, but it's actually doing the opposite by encouraging social avoidance. 

Developing social and soft skills is crucial for our generation and the next so we can function in society and make informed decisions for ourselves. With the option of self-checkouts and online in-person ordering, more and more people are opting for the option that does not require them to talk to people. 

Avoiding these interactions are causing younger people to become more antisocial which causes them to be unable to make decisions or think for themselves. In the future, we could see detrimental impacts of this during voting processes and personal decision making. Automation replacing workers is supporting isolation in our world. 

Behavioral marketing is a set of actions aimed at promoting or selling products bases on users' interactions with brand's websites, social media pages, and other online areas. This digital marketing offers different tools to use people's behavior patterns to a company's advantage. It knows how people think and can predict what people want or feel before they do. Behavioral marketing is taking the uncertainty out of life, but that's not all good. 

Uncertainty is a part of life, and it helps us to make decisions regarding our values and beliefs. It is crucial that we are able to make these decisions so we can think for ourselves and not be controlled by the government. Behavioral marketing also includes something as simple as Instagram reels. These short videos are monitored and catered to how someone interacts with their current video, showing related videos depending how the previous video was interacted with. These surveillance technologies have realized that adjusting a user's feed could make the user happy or sad. They can control the emotions of users by showing a sad video or a funny video, it's that easy. This is scary because if an online environment can change real world behavior, that opens the door of how people could be controlled in the future. 

Artificial intelligence, automation, and online surveillance are taking away our decisions making and judgment skills, which could cause negative impacts for our freedom in the future. 

For information about this topic, I watched this video, and read this article and this article.

The Spiral of Silence

The Spiral of Silence theory is one of the most extensively researched theories in the field of communication psychology. It states that people’s willingness to express their opinions on controversial public issues is affected by their unconscious perception of those opinions as being either popular or unpopular. What that basically means is that people remain silent when they feel that their views on a subject are in opposition to the majority view. They keep quiet because they fear isolation or negative consequences. 

The Spiral of Silence theory was developed by a German survey and communication researcher named Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann in the 1960's.

She conducted research during the 1965 German federal election campaign with a series of surveys designed to track the political opinions throughout the campaign. For months, the voters’ remained practically unchanged in the two major parties, the governing Christian Democratic Union–Christian Social Union (CDU-CSU) and the opposing Social Democratic Party of Germany (SDP). 

In the final few weeks of the campaign, however, the situation suddenly changed, with survey findings showing a last-minute swing in favor of the CDU-CSU, which caused them to win the election. While voters’ intentions remained unchanged over the course of many months, their expectations of the outcome of the election shifted dramatically at the last second.

So, how could the voters have remained constant for so long while expectations as to who would win changed so dramatically? Noelle-Neumann suspected that a visit to Germany by Queen Elizabeth II accompanied by the Christian Democratic German chancellor may have created a favor among supporters of the CDU. This could have prompted them to publicly voice their political opinions. 

As a result, supporters of the SDP may have wrongly concluded that their opponents’ opinions were more popular than their own and that therefore the CDU would win. SDP supporters were accordingly discouraged from publicly articulating their own views, reinforcing the impression that the CDU was more popular and therefore more likely to be victorious, hence the spiraling silence of the minority opinion.

Most people have a natural and mostly unconscious fear of social isolation that prompts them to constantly monitor the behavior of others for signs of approval or disapproval. To avoid isolation or judgment, people tend to stop themselves from publicly stating their views on controversial matters when they perceive that doing so would attract signs of disapproval. 

On the other side, those who sense that their opinions will be met with approval tend to voice them without fear. This starts the spiraling process, with the dominant opinion becoming louder and more self-confident while the other opinion becomes increasingly silent. 

This theory relies on the idea that in a given situation we all possess a sort of intuitive way of knowing what the prevailing opinion happens to be. This intuition is called the “quasi-statistical organ” and was named by Noelle-Neumann. Our “sixth sense” helps us gauge the environment and the opinions of others. It helps us understand what other people are thinking and provides an idea of the prevailing dominant opinion. 

Interestingly enough, the spiral of silence occurs only in controversial issues that have a strong moral component. This is because a person’s fear of isolation gets triggered by the belief that others will consider them not mistaken– but morally bad.

As demonstrated by the 1965 German federal election and other examples, the actual popularity of an opinion does not necessarily determine whether it will eventually predominate over opposing views. An opinion can be dominant in public discourse even if a majority of the population actually disagrees with it, provided that most people falsely believe that the view is unpopular and refrain from expressing it for fear of being isolated.

The Spiral of Silence theory also indirectly explains how the Holocaust occurred during World War II. Adolf Hitler dominated the entire society and the minority Jews became silent due to the fear of isolation.
 

The theory, fortunately, does have some weaknesses, such as the vocal minority, the internet, and the context of the it. The internet seemingly levels the playing field, because a minority opinion won’t be felt as a minority opinion because it could be voiced in an area where it would be more popular. Secondly, there is a group that appears to be outside of the effects of the Spiral of Silence: the vocal minority. They are a small group of people that openly declare their beliefs but have little effect on voting patterns or social behavior. Finally, a spiral of silence holds sway over only a society for only a limited period because public opinion is limited by two factors: time and space.

Unfortunately because of the invention of the internet, mass media was also born. Mass media has an incredible influence on our minds because almost everything that we know comes from information that we consume through media. This leads mass media to mold our perception and opinions by feeding us propaganda. In fact, it uses words like ‘most’ and ‘lots’ in order to dictate our perception of the majority opinion. It gives more coverage for the majorities in the society and gives less coverage for minorities.

On the brighter side, the spiral of silence theory helps to raise questions about considering the role and responsibility of media in society. This theory attempts to describe collective opinion formation and societal decision making regarding issues that are controversial. It also strengthens the idea that isolation is a weapon used by society to punish people who refuse to conform.

For information about the spiral of silence theory, I looked at this website, this article, this ScienceABC post, and this Britannica article.

Online Privacy

I found it very interesting during one of the TED Talks when the speaker said how the War on Terror in the early 2000's was just an excuse for the government to invade our privacy. It was a shocking and somewhat true statement that begins the debate of national security versus personal security. The ability to monitor what someone does on the internet is very helpful for the government, unfortunately, it is an extreme invasion of privacy. Whether someone follows the law or is secretly planning a terrorist attack should be known only to that person, not any government workers. 

The invention of the Internet certainly has made many people interpret the first amendment differently, because when the founding fathers wrote the Bill of Rights, they could not take a photo it and post it online for millions of people to see. The third clause of first amendment gives us a right to freedom of speech. This means that it not only protects our individual rights to speak our minds in person, but also to do so online. So why does the government try to monitor what we say and do online, when they can't in person? The reason is national security, but it's not all national security when the government monitors what we do or say on the internet.

Granting unchecked surveillance powers to the government could also create a potential abuse of those powers. Government officials could use surveillance data to target political opponents, suppress dissent, or engage in discriminatory practices. Which although it would be helpful for political affairs, it would not be very protective of Americans' rights. A little monitoring would be alright, but only if we knew we could trust the government, which is often shady at best. Government surveillance programs are often secretive and have little oversight. This lack of accountability means that individuals have little recourse if their rights are violated or if surveillance is conducted improperly. 

Another downside of the government monitoring what we say online is the effect of the spiral of silence theory. This is one of the most popular communication theories and it states that people remain silent when they feel that their views are in opposition to the majority view on a subject. This causes people to possibly hesitate to explore controversial topics or express minority opinions if they fear government surveillance.  People may also be less inclined to experiment with new ideas or technologies if they fear their activities will be monitored and possibly scrutinized by the government.

Thankfully, according to the TED talks listed below, encryption is making privation information private again. Because there's no way to control how much surveillance the government has over us, many apps and other Internet browsers are building networks with encryption to make sure they are as secure as possible. Tech companies have built these encryption pieces as a default into their devices. Apps like iMessage and WhatsApp are developed now so the government cannot wiretap text messages. Of course, our government officials are very mad about this, but I believe that that's okay. I don't want to live in a world where our calls or texts could be surveilled by criminals, stalkers, or foreign governments. 

Thankfully, nothing me or my family does is illegal enough to cause government involvement in our life. Unfortunately, I see on the news all too often innocent people being killed by SWAT because their identities were mixed up with someone else. Right now, I am glad that more light is being shed onto government surveillance and I hope in the future that more apps and other internet browsers add encryption to support our individual rights. 

For information about this topic, I watched the TED talk above, this TED talk, and this website.

Antiwar Voices

I find it so interesting that more people don't realize how much the government controls the news and our information. When we learn about propaganda and censorship in school, most people assume that the government doesn't do that anymore, but that's not true. The government still censorship's everything from where we get our information to what we learn. 

I go to DuckDuckGo if I'm serious about trying to find unbiased information about politics or beliefs I know are controversial. Nine times out of ten, there's websites and information that pops up there that doesn't on Google. The government is actively censoring Google and other popular search tools, so I don't find it shocking that they are only putting out to the media and news what they want Americans to hear. Of course, many Americans believe what they hear on "reputable" news sides, and don't think to search further for other sides of an argument or other perspectives.

I have never heard of these websites given, but I enjoyed looking through them and reading them because they were antiwar beliefs, which I don't hear about often. Antiwar voices are popular among the average American, but not among the government, which is a disparity that is strange. 

America has always supported war in our history, but after we reached the 2000's I feel like war has become outdated. At some point, we have cellphones, Tiktok, and other fast communication technology that can accurately portray the violence in war. The Holocaust happened because of lack of communication and information about what was happening in Germany. Now, people of any age can see the horrific affects of war, bombs, etc. That should cause more people to be against war and violence. 

Unfortunately, I don't know where the disparity between our government representatives and the average  American came from. They must know something that we don't if they are so pro-war. They must have a private agenda that is important enough to support killing soldiers and being involved in turmoil that isn't ours. I read one article in The American Conservative that talked about how our involvement in the Middle East was just a distraction.

The Middle East situation has consistently captured the government's attention even though it has limited significance to U.S. national security. President Biden and his administration have devoted significant time and resources to addressing Middle Eastern conflicts, with numerous meetings and visits to the region. This intense focus on the Middle East has come at the expense of other policy areas, such as relations with Ukraine and China. Unfortunately, U.S. partners in the Middle East often defy American policy preferences, raising questions about the effectiveness of U.S. engagement in the region. What is even more awful is that conflicts with far higher casualty rates are getting little attention. Overall, reevaluating the extent of U.S. involvement in the Middle East could better align with antiwar voices and national interests.

Since we have freedom of speech, the government can't hide antiwar information permanently, but they can make it impossible to find- unless you know where to look. Although it seems like an infringement against our freedom of speech, the government just found a loophole. Since the government has much more power and influence than the average American, they can push their ideas about war on popular media sites and news broadcasts to sway everyone else's mind.

For information on this I looked at The American Conservative, this website, and this article.

Communication Techonology: Instagram

Instagram is a popular social media platform that allows users to share photos and videos, connect with others, and discover new content. With its visually engaging and diverse features, Instagram has become a vital tool for communication in the digital era.

Instagram was founded in 2010 by Kevin Systrom. Kevin was a Stanford grad and previously worked for Google. He originally named the app Burbn because he had an interest in whiskey and bourbon! At first, this newfound app made for a way for people to connect around the world by publicizing each check in whenever someone traveled somewhere new. After two weeks of negotiations with venture firms, he earned $500,000 in funding.

While he was in search of a team, he found Mike Krieger. Mike was also a Stanford grad and was working on a social media platform called Meebo. Eventually, these two men realized that Burbn was too similar to Foursquare, which was an already well established app. So, they changed the app and the name to Instagram and it was launched on October 6th 2010.

Fun Fact: Instagram comes from the words ‘instant camera’ and ‘telegram!’

Instagram spread in popularity fast, gaining one million users in three months and two million users in the following month. In April 2012, Instagram was opened to android users and gained another fifty million users. Also in 2012, the app was bought by Facebook for one billion dollars. Facebook bought the app because the target audience overlapped and Facebook didn’t want the Instagram to become a threat.

In 2013, video sharing functions, direct messages(DM’s), and sponsored posts became introduced. This allowed people to post and share, while also rebranding Instagram as an advertising platform. 

The app was used for communication through photos, including posts and stories, videos, and messaging. Instagram is also used as an advertising platform for businesses to use. This made a new way for brands to reach audiences through sponsored posts. Many other app accommodations revolutionized the communication process, affecting Instagram as well. Tiktok’s short videos led to the creation of Instagram reels and Snapchat’s stories led to Instagram adding this feature in 2016. Over the years, Instagram introduced these features which enhanced its functionality and kept users engaged. 

Instagram serves as a powerful communication technology due to its visually-driven nature, which allows users to convey messages, emotions, and stories through photos and videos. Captions, comments, and direct messaging encourage interactions among individuals and groups worldwide. Additionally, Instagram's algorithmic feed and discovery features foster community engagement and collaboration. Overall, Instagram's combination of visual storytelling, accessibility, and engagement features makes it a dynamic and effective communication technology in the digital age.

As of 2022, Instagram stands as one of the most popular social media platforms globally, with over a billion monthly active users. Its influence extends beyond personal use, with businesses, influencers, and brands utilizing it as a vital marketing tool.

For information about this communication technology, I listened to Courtney Faber's presentation and looked at this Britannica article.