Prefer Like-minded Views
Studies like this make me think we need to emphasize information literacy even more and be much more aware of how difficult critical thinking is--it goes against the brain...
"The analysis, reported this month in Psychological Bulletin, was led by researchers at the University of Illinois and the University of Florida, and included data from 91 studies involving nearly 8,000 participants."
"Receiving information that supports one's position on an issue allows people to conclude that their views are correct but may often obscure reality. In contrast, receiving
information that contradicts one's view on an issue can cause people to feel misled or ignorant but may allow access to a valid representation of reality. Therefore, understanding how people strive to feel validated versus to be correct is critical to
explicating how they select information about an issue when several alternatives are present. We conducted a meta-analysis of field and laboratory studies on information exposure to shed light on these issues."
Hart, W., Albarracın, D., Eagly, A. H., Brechan, I., Lindberg, M. J., & Merrill, L. (2009). Feeling Validated Versus Being Correct: A Meta-Analysis of Selective Exposure to Information. Psychological Bulletin, 135(4), 555-588. doi: 10.1037/a0015701.