When the mind is working correctly it filters information to conform to your previous held beliefs. The mind does this by altering how you see others in order to protect your self-esteem and by distorting reality to make sure you stay as the hero of your own story. In short, your brain isn’t naturally programmed to see reality clearly. It’s engrained certain patterns in order to help you make assumptions quickly and efficiently. Unfortunately, some of these software designs that were once adaptive for our species are now more of a hindrance than a help. These cognitive biases helped our ancestors to make quick decisions and lessen the workload for our brains, but in today’s world these coping skills have become largely maladaptive. Take for instance, the brain’s natural tendency to accept as true any piece of information it hears repeatedly. Research has shown that subjects can be told before hand that a piece of information is false, but if they are told the information enough times, eventually they will rate it as true on questionnaires at a later date. You can start to see why this cognitive bias is so troubling because it can be abused by others.

• FACT: When presented with conflicting information to a person’s previous held beliefs, the brain’s prefrontal cortex area (critical thinking) will light up. It does this, however, not to incorporate the new information but to find a reason why it is not accurate. Once the brain comes up with an adequate reason why the other person is wrong the brain’s pleasure pathway will give the person a hit of dopamine to reward them for their rationalization
• TAKEAWAY: The brain will reward you for confirming your old beliefs, even if the information presented is very convincing. Basically, your brain will reward you for deluding yourself in order to keep your beliefs consistent, therefore causing less work for your brain.