Why do we maintain the same beliefs, even when we are proved wrong?

Belief Perseverance

, explained.
Bias

What is Belief Perseverance?

Belief perseverance, also known as the backfire effect or conceptual conservatism, describes how we continue to hold onto established beliefs even when faced with clear, contradictory evidence. We tend to prioritize our initial conclusions and resist changing our minds, even when it might be in our best interest to do so.

Where this bias occurs

Consider Jane, a dedicated fourth-grade teacher with over three decades of experience. Late into her career, a new study is published suggesting that traditional homework methods might not be as effective as once believed. Jane reads the study but quickly dismisses it, trusting her years of observed success in sending worksheets home with her students. Even when her colleagues begin finding positive results from newer methodologies such as educational video games or encouraging free play outside, Jane sticks to her established routines, confident her approach remains superior.

In this example, Jane exemplifies belief perseverance by holding onto her established belief about traditional homework methods, despite new evidence suggesting otherwise. The new study and the successful outcomes of her colleagues should have encouraged her to re-evaluate her methods. Instead, Jane's deeply rooted beliefs resisted change, illustrating how belief perseverance can influence decisions and keep us anchored to outdated or incorrect views.

Related Biases

Sources

  1. Siebert, J., & Siebert, J. U. (2023). Effective mitigation of the belief perseverance bias after the retraction of misinformation: Awareness training and counter-speech. PloS one, 18(3), e0282202. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0282202
  2. Laythe, B. R. (2006). Conflict and threat between pre-existing groups: An application of identity to bias, persuasion and belief perseverance. Doctoral Dissertations. 354. https://scholars.unh.edu/dissertation/354 
  3. Savion, Leah (2009). Clinging to discredited beliefs: the larger cognitive story. Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 9(1), 81-92. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ854880.pdf
  4. S., S. M. (2023, May 1). Belief perseverance. Psychology Dictionary. https://psychologydictionary.org/belief-perseverance/ 
  5. Anderson, C. A. (1989). Causal reasoning and belief perseverance. Proceedings of the Society for Consumer Psychology.
  6. Anderson, C. A., Lepper, M. R., & Ross, L. (1980). Perseverance of social theories: The role of explanation in the persistence of discredited information. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 39(6), 1037–1049. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0077720 
  7. Maegherman, E., Ask, K., Horselenberg, R., & van Koppen, P. J. (2021). Law and order effects: on cognitive dissonance and belief perseverance. Psychiatry, Psychology and Law, 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1080/13218719.2020.1855268 
  8. ​​Tavris, C., & Aronson, E. (2007). Mistakes were made (but not by me): Why we justify foolish beliefs, bad decisions, and hurtful acts. Harcourt.
  9. Confucius quotes. BrainyQuote. (n.d.). https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/confucius_141561 
  10. Festinger, L., Riecken, H. W., & Schachter, S. (1956). When prophecy fails. University of Minnesota Press. https://doi.org/10.1037/10030-000
  11. Ross, L., Lepper, M. R., & Hubbard, M. (1975). Perseverance in self-perception and social perception: Biased attributional processes in the debriefing paradigm. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 32(5), 880–892. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.32.5.880
  12. McFarland, C., Cheam, A., & Buehler, R. (2007). The perseverance effect in the debriefing paradigm: Replication and extension. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 43(2), 233-240. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2006.01.010
  13. Tikkanen, A. (2023, July 6). Titanic. Encyclopædia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Titanic 
  14. Jones, T. (2020, October 31). Dewey defeats Truman: The most famous wrong call in electoral history. Chicago Tribune. https://www.chicagotribune.com/featured/sns-dewey-defeats-truman-1942-20201031-5kkw5lpdavejpf4mx5k2pr7trm-story.html  
  15. Festinger, L. (1957). A theory of cognitive dissonance. Stanford University Press.

About the Authors

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Dan Pilat

Dan is a Co-Founder and Managing Director at The Decision Lab. He is a bestselling author of Intention - a book he wrote with Wiley on the mindful application of behavioral science in organizations. Dan has a background in organizational decision making, with a BComm in Decision & Information Systems from McGill University. He has worked on enterprise-level behavioral architecture at TD Securities and BMO Capital Markets, where he advised management on the implementation of systems processing billions of dollars per week. Driven by an appetite for the latest in technology, Dan created a course on business intelligence and lectured at McGill University, and has applied behavioral science to topics such as augmented and virtual reality.

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Dr. Sekoul Krastev

Sekoul is a Co-Founder and Managing Director at The Decision Lab. He is a bestselling author of Intention - a book he wrote with Wiley on the mindful application of behavioral science in organizations. A decision scientist with a PhD in Decision Neuroscience from McGill University, Sekoul's work has been featured in peer-reviewed journals and has been presented at conferences around the world. Sekoul previously advised management on innovation and engagement strategy at The Boston Consulting Group as well as on online media strategy at Google. He has a deep interest in the applications of behavioral science to new technology and has published on these topics in places such as the Huffington Post and Strategy & Business.

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