Which of the following is an example of confirmation bias?
a. a pharmacologist is studying the effect of certain drugs on humans, and tells the test subjects that the drug may cause headaches. some of the subjects are given the drug, and some are given placebos (sugar pills) instead. then the number of headaches is counted.
b. an oil company has research done on the effects of drilling on the environment. it is found that in 87% of cases, there is a negative effect. the oil company only publishes the 13% that show a positive effect, or no negative effects.
c. a researcher is studying the college readiness of american teens. he interviews 200 urban male teenagers from philadelphia and finds that 85% say they are ready for college. the researcher concludes that 85% of all teenagers in america are ready for college.
d. a journalist who does not think climate change is real is writing an article about climate change. in his article he cites one article that discusses how humans cannot be causing climate change, and ignores several other articles that discuss how humans can cause climate change.