Subjective validation
🧠 Psych - 217/300
Reader!
What do you know about “Subjective validation”?
Me: 😰
What is it?
Subjective validation, also known as the personal validation fallacy, is a cognitive bias in which people believe that a statement or prediction is true simply because it resonates with their personal beliefs, experiences, or emotions, rather than because it is supported by objective evidence.
Here's an example of subjective validation:
A person believes in astrology and reads their horoscope that predicts a positive outcome for the day. Throughout the day, the person experiences positive events and attributes them to the accuracy of the horoscope, even though these events may have occurred regardless of the horoscope's prediction.
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What do I need to know?
Two takeaways from this are:
Seek objective evidence: When evaluating statements or predictions, it's important to seek objective evidence rather than relying solely on personal beliefs or emotions. This involves considering multiple sources of information and being open to the possibility that the information may contradict your personal beliefs or expectations.
Be aware of confirmation bias: Subjective validation is often linked to confirmation bias, which is the tendency to seek out and interpret information in a way that confirms pre-existing beliefs or hypotheses. To avoid this bias, it's important to actively seek out and consider information that challenges your beliefs and to be open to changing your beliefs when presented with sufficient evidence.