AP PSYCHOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -Belief perseverance (also known as conceptual conservatism) is maintaining a belief despite new information that firmly contradicts it. Such beliefs may even be strengthened when others attempt to present evidence debunking them, a phenomenon known as the backfire effect (compare boomerang effect).

Detailed explanation-2: -An example of belief perseverance is a person who believes that smoking does not cause cancer despite the abundance of evidence that shows that smoking does cause cancer.

Detailed explanation-3: -There are three kinds of belief perseverance: self-impressions, social impressions, and social theories. Belief perseverance is difficult to overcome, but learning about the existence of this bias and thinking of explanations that support an opposing belief can help reduce it.

Detailed explanation-4: -Belief Perseverance Error: Illusion of Control The illusion of control bias is a belief perseverance bias in which individuals think that they can control or influence outcomes when, in fact, they cannot.