Considering Confirmation Bias in Design and Design Research

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Hallihan, Gregory M. | Shu, L.H.

Affiliations: Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada

Note: [] Corresponding author. Email: [email protected] Tel: (+1)416-946-3028

Abstract: Confirmation bias is an innate and pervasive human tendency to preferentially attempt to validate beliefs instead of invalidating them. However the design community, which is increasingly concerned with the cognition of designers, has largely overlooked this phenomenon. This paper discusses the relevance of confirmation bias with respect to its potential to influence designers and design researchers. The existing literature suggests that confirmation bias is present among designers and can contribute to undesirable design outcomes. Our emphasis is placed on the role of confirmation bias in fixation and the misapplication of biological analogies in design. We discuss the results of our experimental study that suggest confirmation bias may skew data evaluation in design research, contributing to deviations from scientifically accurate conclusions. We also discuss possible methods to mitigate confirmation bias.

Keywords: Cognitive bias, conceptual design, design creativity, design evaluation, design methodology

DOI: 10.3233/jid-2013-0019

Journal: Journal of Integrated Design and Process Science, vol. 17, no. 4, pp. 19-35, 2013