Confirmatory Bias and Confirmatory Distortion

Abstract

SUMMARY The author reviews research on confirmatory bias, discusses its role in evaluations of comparative custodial fitness, and creates a distinction between confirmatory bias and confirmatory distortion, in which there is an indisputably conscious endeavor to find and report information that is supportive of one's favored hypothesis. Information is provided concerning the dynamics of confirmatory bias and distortion, the ways in which these phenomena manifest themselves, and the ways in which they can be addressed by reviewers and by cross-examining attorneys.