Bias-Aware Systems: Exploring Indicators for the Occurrences of Cognitive Biases when Facing Different Opinions

Abstract

Cognitive biases have been shown to play a critical role in creating echo chambers and spreading misinformation. They undermine our ability to evaluate information and can influence our behaviour without our awareness. To allow the study of occurrences and effects of biases on information consumption behaviour, we explore indicators for cognitive biases in physiological and interaction data. Therefore, we conducted two experiments investigating how people experience statements that are congruent or divergent from their own ideological stance. We collected interaction data, eye tracking data, hemodynamic responses, and electrodermal activity while participants were exposed to ideologically tainted statements. Our results indicate that people spend more time processing statements that are incongruent with their own opinion. We detected differences in blood oxygenation levels between congruent and divergent opinions, a first step towards building systems to detect and quantify cognitive biases.