Question

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Mr.T

Cognitive bias or fallacy

Person 1 hands in source as proof of his claims.

But the source is actually proof against him.

Person 2 points out that the source is proofing him wrong.

Person 1 claims that Person 2 does not understand the evidence.

Is this an appeal to ignorance or is it some sort of cognitive bias?

asked on Tuesday, Sep 15, 2020 04:24:20 AM by Mr.T

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Dr. Richard writes:

Assuming the evidence actually does show P1 to be in error, then I think we are looking at Cognitive Dissonance (or worse, Backfire).

There is also the possibility P2 does not understand the evidence in sufficient context.

Either way, the next step in the conversation, if I were P2, would be to ask P1 in what manner I failed to understand and have him explain it to me in terms I could grasp. If I were P1, just the reverse, I would seek to grasp why P2 did not see the link I saw between the evidence and the proof of the proposition.

posted on Tuesday, Sep 15, 2020 12:10:46 PM

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Bo Bennett, PhD
1

This would best be an example of the Overconfidence Effect, a cognitive bias that leads one to be much more confident in their position than the evidence warrants (or reality dictates). This is often the case when someone is factually (objectively) wrong but is convinced they are right.
answered on Tuesday, Sep 15, 2020 07:27:05 AM by Bo Bennett, PhD

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