FACTOID #151: The five countries with the highest coffee consumption are also the five countries whose citizens trust one another the most. Coincidence? Probably.
Selective thinking is the process by which one selects for favorable evidence in order to justify a belief, ignoring unfavorable evidence. It is broader than wishful thinking, as the belief is not necessarily in a desirable outcome. In statistics, this predisposition is called confirmation bias or selection bias. Wishful thinking is the formation of beliefs and making decisions according to what might be pleasing to imagine instead of by appealing to evidence or rationality. ... In inductive inference, confirmation bias is a type of cognitive bias toward confirmation of the hypothesis under study. ... Selection bias is the error of distorting a statistical analysis by pre- or post-selecting the samples. ...
Selection bias, sometimes referred to as the selection effect, is the error of distorting a statistical analysis due to the methodology of how the samples are collected.
Selection bias can be the result of scientific fraud which manipulate data directly, but more often is either unconscious or due to biases in the instruments used for observation.
Concern about selection biases generally cannot be overcome with statistical analysis of existing data alone, though see the work of James Heckman for some strategies, and though the degree of concern about selection bias can be tentatively measured by examining correlations between (exogenous) background variables and a treatment indicator.
Selectivethinking is the process whereby one selects out favorable evidence for remembrance and focus, while ignoring unfavorable evidence for a belief.
This kind of thinking is the basis for most beliefs in the psychic powers of so-called mind readers and mediums.
biased thinking, whereby one seriously considers data contrary to one's belief, but one is much more critical of such data than one is of supportive data.
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