Self-Deception and Confirmation Bias
What sets an ordinary person apart from a psychologist? The former often cannot catch themselves in positive bias and distorted perception of facts. For the latter, the ability to be objective is a necessary part of the profession. What are we talking about? Our tendency to see what we want to see. Or, more precisely…
Confirmation bias is the tendency to seek out, interpret, and prefer information that aligns with one’s own viewpoint, belief, or hypothesis.
In a socionics interview, this manifests as the socionist consciously or unconsciously asking the respondent questions that either already contain the desired answer or nudge them toward it. This is especially common after the socionist forms a hypothesis about the respondent’s socionics type. Once the socionist starts suspecting the respondent’s type, or at least some of their dichotomies, functions, or quadra, even ambiguous responses are interpreted to support the socionist’s viewpoint.
For example, if the respondent says, “I like my city, there are lots of interesting people and things to do…,” the socionist might assume this points to extraversion and valuing Emotional Ethics (even though this is far from obvious!) and then ask a series of leading questions: “Do you like emotional people?”, “Is it hard for you to be alone for long?”, “Are you a sociable person?”, “Do you prefer active leisure?”
It’s easy to see that in such a context and sequence, mostly affirmative answers will be given. Moreover, these are all closed questions that don’t allow for deeper discussion. It’s also important to note that being unsociable is socially frowned upon, while sociability is associated with success, so very few people will answer such questions honestly.
The way a question is phrased can significantly change the answer. People asked, “Are you satisfied with your personal life?” report higher satisfaction than those asked, “Are you dissatisfied with your personal life?”
There was an experiment where a respondent was introduced as an introvert. Interviewers then chose questions that assumed introversion, like, “What do you dislike about noisy parties?” When the respondent was introduced as an extrovert, almost all questions assumed extroversion, such as, “What would you do to liven up a boring party?” These loaded questions gave the respondent little chance to disprove the interviewer’s hypothesis.
The phenomenon of positive bias means the socionist tends to look for facts that confirm their hypothesis and loses the inclination to seek disconfirming information. After all, it’s uncomfortable to encounter inconvenient facts during typing. Isn’t it always?
Understanding our tendency to confirm our own viewpoint is universal and can take our thinking to a new level—especially for psychologists and socionists.
10 Key Examples of Bias
- Biased Information Search – Instead of determining the socionics type using all available information, the socionist frames questions to get affirmative answers that support their hypothesis.
Example: Asking, “Are you sociable?”, “Do you talk a lot in groups?” but not, “Who talks more in your group?” or “When do you talk more or less?” - Polarization Effect – Disagreements become even stronger, even when both sides are given the same facts. This happens when both interviewer and respondent already have an opinion about the respondent’s type and interpret the same facts to support their own version.
Example: Interviewer: “You said you like city life, so you’re an extrovert!” Respondent: “I like the city because no one knows me and I can be alone—so I’m an introvert!” - Belief Perseverance – A belief persists even after supporting evidence is disproven. Confirmation bias makes the socionist overconfident and can even strengthen their belief when faced with contrary evidence.
Example: Interviewer: “You’re an extrovert!” Respondent: “But I’ve given hundreds of examples of being reserved!” Interviewer: “See how you’re shouting and waving your hands? Classic extrovert!” - Primacy Effect – The tendency to give more weight to information received first. This especially affects experienced socionists, who may quickly “catch” a type in the first minutes but should still verify their initial impression.
Example: “The moment you walked in, you seemed like a Dreiser to me. Honestly, you looked at Russia just like Dreiser would!” - Illusory Correlation – Seeing connections where none exist. In socionics typing, this can take many forms.
Examples: a) “My dad looks like you, so you must be a logical-rational type.” b) “You like hiking? Then you’re a Zhukov!” c) “Everyone with a big build or deep voice is a sensor!” d) “Anyone you have to interrupt is an extrovert!” - Biased Interpretation – Previously obtained information forms a biased opinion and influences interpretation. The facts remain the same but are interpreted to confirm the bias.
Example: Interviewer: “You said you liked math in school, so you must have strong Structural Logic.” Respondent: “I liked math because the teacher was kind!” Interviewer: “Still, that shows you like people who organize things. That’s Structural Logic!” - Disconfirmation Bias – People set high standards for evidence that contradicts their beliefs but accept low standards for confirming their own beliefs. In socionics, this means the interviewer nitpicks “inconvenient” arguments but sees their own as indisputable.
Example: “So what if you’re consistent, logical, introverted, organized, diligent, principled, rational, and meticulous? You’re so cute! Look at those eyes and cheeks! How could you be a logic type?” - Selective Memory – Information that matches prior expectations is easier to remember and retain than information that doesn’t. Some theories suggest unexpected info stands out and is remembered as an exception. In socionics interviews, both effects can occur.
Examples:- a) Interviewer: “Throughout the interview, you talked about science, so you must be from the first quadra!” Respondent: “But I said at the start that my father forced me into physics, I hate numbers… I’d rather do art, I only see colors and shapes!” The interviewer remembers only the science part and ignores the main message.
- b) The reverse: “Even though you talked about physics, you seem creative to me because I remember you mentioned loving art!” In socionics interviews, it’s more important to listen to how the respondent speaks than what they say—though both matter.
- c) An introverted, somewhat shy respondent tries to present themselves as a business extrovert to get a realtor or journalist job, highlighting stories that show their entrepreneurial side: “Yeah, my sisters always borrow money from me! I even sold sand to teachers in kindergarten!” Here, it’s crucial to compare the respondent’s motives, character, speech, quadra values, behavior, appearance, and other signs to detect deception.
- Preference for Earlier Information – Information received earlier carries more weight. For example, people form a more positive impression of someone described as “intelligent, hardworking, impulsive, critical, stubborn, envious, rude” than if the same traits are listed in reverse. In other words, we remember the first words best and are less critical of later ones, even if they contradict the first. Socionists shouldn’t focus only on the first things said—it’s important to consider everything the respondent says and how they say it.
Example: Respondent: “I’m very active, always on the go… once a year, when my brother visits.” Interviewer: “Got it: active, always on the go…” - Socionics Bias – When a socionist develops favorite types or quadras and gives them preference. This is a special kind of bias rooted in the herd instinct and the desire to belong to a certain social group. There can also be negative bias against disliked types or specific information metabolism functions.
Examples: “I hate irrational types! Especially irrational extroverted intuitives!” or “You can’t be from my quadra, let alone my identical, because I can’t stand you!” or “All Jacks are stingy, Robespierres are bores, Huxleys are gossips… Only Betas rule! Especially Yesenins.”
Francis Bacon wrote in his work “Novum Organum”: “Once the human mind has adopted an opinion… it draws everything else to support and agree with it. And though there be a greater number and weight of instances to be found on the other side, yet these it either neglects and despises, or else by some distinction sets aside and rejects.”
More self-confident people are willing to seek information that contradicts their own opinions. Insecure people avoid contradictory information and prefer information that supports their own beliefs. People create and evaluate evidence in ways that are biased toward their own beliefs and opinions. Higher levels of confidence reduce the preference for information that supports one’s own beliefs. In short, truth is for the brave.
Given all of the above, it’s important to remember that the correct conclusion about a respondent’s socionics type is based on the statistical majority of answers with a consistent informational direction. In other words, what matters is how often the respondent spoke and behaved as a carrier of a particular function or dichotomy, and which quadra values appeared most frequently in their speech.
Conversely, a socionics type is not determined by the statistical minority of words, expressions, or values mentioned. Anyone can express the semantics of all eight functions. There will always be situations where an introvert acts like an extrovert, or a logic type impresses us with ethical behavior.
This shouldn’t throw us off if, statistically, the respondent most often focuses on certain types of information. Usually, one to four socionics functions are mentioned most frequently.