First-Learned Bias
This article covers a concept within the Selective-Mindedness framework. For the broader model, see Selective-Mindedness.
First-Learned Bias is a proposed cognitive-bias concept describing the disproportionate authority given to beliefs learned early in life. Within the Selective-Mindedness framework, early beliefs become part of a person's cognitive bedrock and can resist later correction even when better evidence appears.
Definition
First-Learned Bias occurs when the first explanation, social rule, religious model, political frame, educational rule, family narrative, or identity category learned by a person becomes the default structure against which later information is judged.
Features
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Early emotional attachment | The belief becomes tied to family, identity, safety, belonging, or competence. |
| Default interpretation | Later information is interpreted through the first-learned structure. |
| Defensive preservation | Contradictory evidence is treated as a threat rather than an update. |
| Stability preference | Familiarity is mistaken for truth. |
Relation to selective-mindedness
Selective-mindedness can develop when first-learned beliefs define the boundary of acceptable openness. A person may accept variation within the inherited frame while rejecting ideas outside it.
Overcoming the bias
The framework emphasizes structured exposure to alternative perspectives, self-observation during discomfort, and the deliberate separation of identity from belief. The aim is not to reject early beliefs automatically, but to stop treating them as immune to review.
See also
- Selective-Mindedness
- Boundary-Defined Openness
- The Erosion of Childhood Adaptability
- Cognitive Impasse Signals
References
- Lehti, Andrew. Selective-Mindedness: An Introduction and the Illusion of Open-Mindedness. figshare, 2024.
- Dweck, C. S., and Leggett, E. L. "A social-cognitive approach to motivation and personality." Psychological Review, 95(2), 256–273, 1988.
- Rangel, U., and Keller, J. "Essentialism goes social: Belief in social determinism as a component of psychological essentialism." Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 100(6), 1056–1078, 2011.
- Festinger, L., and Carlsmith, J. M. "Cognitive consequences of forced compliance." The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 58(2), 203–210, 1959.
- Anderson, C. A., Lepper, M. R., and Ross, L. "Perseverance of social theories: The role of explanation in the persistence of discredited information." Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 39(6), 1037–1049, 1980.