The problem of confirmation bias when searching for symptoms on the Internet

Confirmation bias facilitates behaviors that bring us closer to hypochondria.

Today, the Internet is essential for both individual and global development in all areas of society, from entertainment to job performance, knowledge acquisition, socialization, matchmaking and much more. According to the document Digital around the world in 2019, 4.388 billion people are surfing the web worldwide, which implies 57% global penetration.

China leads the way in terms of the number of users (8,000,000), while Ethiopia is at the bottom, with only 1.9% of the entire population of the region having gone online at some point in their lives. Today, access to the network is not a matter of taste and preference, but of social status. Low-income areas are characterized by very low user rates, and this is accompanied by poor economic and social development.

The Internet is essential for economic momentum and growth as individuals, but it also has its consequences. In 2020, it was estimated that, on average, we will spend 6 hours and 54 minutes online, working, chatting, meeting people and much more. The most normal thing is that, when something hurts us, we look on the net to find out what can happen to us in order to be reassured, right? Based on this premise, we will see what the problem of confirmation bias consists of the problem of the confirmation bias when looking for symptoms on the Internet..

What is confirmation bias?

Confirmation bias is a concept that starts from a simple premise: human beings have the tendency to tendency to acquire or evaluate new information in a way that is consistent with preexisting ideas.. This means that, as a species, we tend to actively seek out that which reinforces what we already thought before embarking on the search for knowledge, and thus quickly dismiss what we disagree with.

We are all "guilty" (or victims) of this bias, because to write these lines, every author will look for studies that describe how confirmation bias works, not whether or not it exists in the first place. Moreover, things get even more interesting when we discover that confirmation bias affects not only how we search for information, but also how we perceive it and what we remember (learn) from it..

Confirmation bias in information seeking, processing and recall results in 4 specific events. These are the following:

• Attitudinal polarization: especially in ideological fields, human beings tend to interpret evidence selectively to support their own beliefs. This is not always a manipulation mechanism, as it is inherent. The more we know, the more polarized our opinion on a subject is (in general).
• Perseverance of belief: even if the initial evidence on which a belief is based is shown to be false, human beings tend to continue believing in it when they have already cemented their ideas.
• Primacy effect: the first evidence that is found is the one that is adopted and given more importance than subsequent ones, even if this has no concrete meaning.
• Illusory correlation: the belief that two events are linked, even though there is no evidence to show this.

These terminological ramifications all stem from the same root: confirmation bias and how we perceive information. Inherently, we look for what is already right, and this can become a problem at all levels: scientific, political, social and, as we will see below, also medical.scientific, political, social and, as we will see below, also medical.

Confirmation bias and patient symptomatology

It is easy to apply all this theory to a patient's symptomatology. If a person has a headache, he can search the Internet to find out what causes this pain. Surely, in the "symptoms" section of any verified government page (such as the Mayo Clinic or the U.S. National Library of Medicine) many possible causes of this clinical sign will appear, but, almost always, the patient will fix his attention on the worst of them all.

This is where another phenomenon comes into play, known as "negativity bias" or negative affect.. We will not dwell too much on his theory, since it is enough for us to know that, according to this postulation, in the face of two events of the same intensity, the bad thing weighs much more than the neutral or positive thing.

Inherently, our species focuses on bad things, probably because of the genetic imprint we inherited from our ancestors who once walked the Earth. Observing negative events in nature increases survival, as those who detect potential dangers learn to act prematurely when the threat is real.

Thus, of all the possible symptoms for the headache, the patient is likely to be left with the brain tumor, as it is the worst of the available options. From this point on, he will start to look for information only about this pathology and, unconsciously, he will be selecting only the one that supports his already established beliefI have a brain tumor".

Depending on the patient's degree of anxiety and vulnerability, he may begin to somatize his emotions. He believes that something hurts, so he worries, suffers and the body shows organic Pain with no real physical cause to channel these negative feelings. It is the fish that bites its own tail: "I worry because something hurts me and something hurts me because I worry".

Confirmation bias and hypochondriasis.

So far, we have moved on theoretical grounds, but it is time to put these postulations into practice. Medical portals estimate that up to 30% of patients attending primary care centers do not have an organic cause for their pain. Moreover, according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4 to 9% of patients in medical practice show hypochondriacal traits..

From a psychological point of view, hypochondria is defined as a condition in which the person is excessively preoccupied with the idea of having a serious illness. The patient spends a considerable part of his time searching for possible symptoms of "his disease" on the Internet, usually presents generalized anxiety and/or depression, does not remain calm despite medical diagnoses and constantly checks himself to confirm that his symptoms are real.

Thus, we see how two currents converge at the same point: it could be said that the negativity bias and the confirmation bias when searching for symptoms on the Internet favor the appearance of anxiety and hypochondriasis, as they make it easier for the patient to devote a lot of time to the search for symptoms.The patient can devote an unhealthy amount of time to corroborate the self-imposed idea that he/she has a serious pathology.

Breaking the cycle is possible

Breaking this feedback cycle (something hurts me-I look for symptoms-I worry-I worry-it hurts more) is possible, but always with the appropriate psychological help. Cognitive-behavioral therapies will help the patient to control his impulses, to stop self-analyzing himself continuously and, with the help of a psychologist, to stop the pain.The general premise is simple: if the patient feels that something is wrong, he/she should stop analyzing him/herself continuously and, above all, not look for the symptomatology of his/her discomfort in web portals and visit the doctor every time he/she feels that something is wrong.

The general premise is simple: if you feel a persistent discomfort, go to the doctor, but if you have already been told that everything is fine, do not look for more reasons for concern. Living beings are open systems and, as such, it is normal that sometimes something hurts or we see some sporadic physiological maladjustment. This is almost never a sign of serious illness, so stay calm and don't rush to the keyboard. If you see that this is not possible, seek psychological help. We are not born learned and knowing how to control our impulses is key to putting an end to confirmation bias.

Bibliographic references:

• Allahverdyan, A. E., & Galstyan, A. (2014). Opinion dynamics with confirmation bias. PloS one, 9(7), e99557.
• DSM IV* - Diagnostic Criteria for Mental Disorders: criteria for the diagnosis of F45.2 Hypochondriasis. Retrieved April 23 from https://www.infogerontologia.com/pop_out/patol_criterios_diagnosticos/dsm_iv/somatomorfos/hipocondria.html.
• Palminteri, S., Lefebvre, G., Kilford, E. J., & Blakemore, S. J. (2017). Confirmation bias in human reinforcement learning: Evidence from counterfactual feedback processing. PLoS computational biology, 13(8), e1005684.