Who is open minded

People are very open-minded about new things…as long as they're exactly like the old ones! After considering various alternatives, an open-minded person can take a firm stand on a position and act accordingly. The opposite of open-mindedness is what is called the myside bias which refers to the pervasive tendency to search for evidence and evaluate evidence in a way that favors your initial beliefs. Most people show myside bias, but some are more biased than others.

In order to be open-minded, we have to work against these basic tendencies, leading virtue ethicists to call open-mindedness a corrective virtue. In addition to the myside bias described above, here are three other cognitive tendencies that work against open-minded thinking:. We maintain our beliefs by selectively exposing ourselves to information that we already know is likely to support those beliefs. Liberals tend to read liberal newspapers, and Conservatives tend to read conservative newspapers.

The evidence that comes first matters more than evidence presented later. Trial lawyers are very aware of this phenomenon. Once jurors form a belief, that belief becomes resistant to counterevidence. We tend to be less critical of evidence that supports our beliefs than evidence that runs counter to our beliefs. In an interesting experiment that demonstrates this phenomenon Anchor[1], researchers presented individuals with mixed evidence on the effectiveness of capital punishment on reducing crime.

Even though the evidence on both sides of the issue was perfectly balanced, individuals became stronger in their initial position for or against capital punishment. I remember when a hedge fund I was on the board of made a terrible investment decision. Further complicating things, it varies by day and challenge.

Try to do better next time. Remember that this stuff takes work. Either way, this is something worth exploring. I have one more thing to add: Being open-minded does not mean that you spend an inordinate amount of time considering patently bad ideas just for the sake of open-mindedness.

There is wisdom in closed-mindedness on certain issues. I strongly doubt it. Then why would you be any different? Read Next. Self-Improvement Reading Time: 5 minutes. Worst danger zone, the open sea, now traversed, but on land not yet out of the wood. New Word List Word List.

Save This Word! We could talk until we're blue in the face about this quiz on words for the color "blue," but we think you should take the quiz and find out if you're a whiz at these colorful terms. Origin of open-minded First recorded in — Outsets and onsets! C1 willing to consider ideas and opinions that are new or different to your own:. Doctors these days tend to be more open-minded about alternative medicine. See more results ». Related word open-mindedness. Examples of open-minded.

Although less interested in theory, these archaeologists were more open - minded towards new methods and techniques. From the Cambridge English Corpus. To the believer it will indeed show the compatibilities of science, while to some open - minded sceptics it may niggle uncomfortably. Consider first the nature of this open - minded enquirer. Otherwise, insofar as the nature of the materials and language adopted, our recent experiences have taught us to remain open - minded.

In the initial stages in a complex field, careful open - minded observation is paramount. We feel that this should also be done in an open - minded and experimental way using up-to-date building technologies and knowledge. So believer and open - minded sceptic will find much to enjoy in this book.

To the open - minded sceptic, if such really exists, at the least this book should provide food for thought.