One-liner: New information will only strengthen points of view one already had.
Example: Two opposing groups. Two fabricated texts strengthening each group's ideas. Both groups read both texts. Both groups come out of this exercise believing more what they believed prior. From: Why facts don't change our minds
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- Pattern Recognition. You are more likely to find what you already are looking for.
- Ego. I am incentivized to find confirming information to protect my ego.
- Groupthink. In case of controversial topics, you will be punished if you break from your group thinking.
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Observer-expectancy is a similar effect. If you are looking for something to happen you might invent it out of a thin air (especially applying to scientific research and )Replication Crisis
It explains why people are more likely to vote how their parents voted