Confirmation bias in sequential information search after preliminary decisions: An expansion of dissonance theoretical research on selective exposureto information

Research on selective exposure to information consistently shows that, afte r having made a decision, people prefer supporting over conflicting informa tion. However, in all of these experiments participants were given an overv iew of all available pieces of information, selected them simultaneously, a nd did not process the requested information during the selection phase. In the present research the authors show that an even stronger preference for supporting information arises if information is presented and processed se quentially instead of simultaneously (Experiment 1), and they demonstrate t hat this stronger confirmation bias is due to sequential presentation and n ot to sequential processing of information (Experiment 2). The authors prov ide evidence that the increase in confirmation bias under sequential presen tation is caused by heightened commitment due to the participants' increase d focusing on their decision (Experiments 3 and 4).