Intention

I wanted to focus on a more cognitive based illusion rather than a sensory illusion. The illusion is that human beings are rational and logical and focus on hard facts. However, Confirmation Bias takes what we hear and see and filters it so that it aligns with out opinions. I wanted to see whether Confirmation Bias also appears in art which to some is much less rational and logical.

Perceptual Illusion

The "illusion" I chose is called Confirmation Bias. It's our tendency to notice, look, and listen to objects and events that confirm our preexisting beliefs. Cognitive Bias occurs because we are heavily influenced by our previous experiences which change how we interpret things we see presently. There are three types of Confirmation Bias:

     - Biased Search for Information: When we research a topic that is controversial we tend to look only at evidence that supports our beliefs.

     - Biased Interpretation: When we read research about a topic that is controversial we tend only to pay attention to facts that support our points and discredit evidence that disproves our points.

     - Biased Memory: We tend to remember only information that confirms our points rather than evidence that denies our beliefs. 

Examples in the world

Cognitive Bias Study

In one study, a group of participants were split into two groups and given extensive data on a woman named Jane. One group was told that she worked as a librarian, the other was told she was a real estate agent. They were asked to review the data and come back in a week where they were asked whether Jane was more of an introvert or extrovert. Those who thought she was a librarian remembered facts that supported her being introverted whereas the other group remembered facts that indicated she was extroverted.

Any Major Debate

When debating whether something is true or false, right or wrong, people tend to only look at facts that support their points. We like to think that we are rational creatures and that numbers never lie. However, we know that studies can be falsified and any information from the web has a chance of being false. So when in a debate and someone brings up a fact or figure that is not aligned with our beliefs, we tend to think that information is false and disregard it.  When we read studies that confirm and deny or opinions, we tend to cherry pick the information the supports our point rather than looking at the entire document and considering each point. 

Can You Solve This Video

Examples in Media/Art

Andy Warhol's Campbell Soup Can:

This art piece by Andy Warhol triggered peoples confirmation bias to create publicity for his work. Either people saw this piece as a work of art or saw it as a piece that flew in the face of what people consider art. Any articles that debated whether the piece was art or advertisement fanned the flames of the debate between Andy Warhol supporters and critics. 

Julie Mehretu Stadia II:

This piece by Julie Mehretu without knowing the title and story behind it looks very colorful and is a great aesthetic modern art piece, in my opinion. However, once a viewer notices the title of the piece they are more likely to see the scene as a stadium. Other elements of the piece look like sports flags, country banners, and company logos adding to the belief that this piece is about a stadium. Cognitive Bias takes viewers perceptions and highlights distinct parts of the painting that they may have other wise ignored or not seen.

Reflection

I learned that there is cognitive bias even in art though not in a way that the artist may have intended. I think with all cognitive bias the creator of the work does not realize the cognitive bias. If I were to create something with cognitive bias heavily integrated I don't know if I could get the same effect. If I were to create a digital piece centered around cognitive bias I would create a piece where the main image would be related to the title, but in the background would add images that completely contradict the front image.