While confirmation bias leads people to seek out evidence for only one side of an argument, belief perseverance leads people to relentlessly consider only one side of the argument. Belief perseverance occurs when an individual, once they have created a rationale for a belief, will maintain the belief even when the rationale has been discredited. A person experiencing belief perseverance does not want to let go of this idea that they had already explained and understood; this can create a whole host of problems when considered on a greater scale. Belief perseverance has the potential to influence everything from research to policy. Take climate change for instance: policymakers today continue to suggest taxing corporations in order to reduce
