Information Bias
Seeking more information even when it cannot change your decision
What is it?
Information bias is the tendency to seek more information even when the answer could not change what you would do. The term was used by Jonathan Baron and colleagues in work on diagnostic reasoning, where people valued tests whose results would not alter the treatment. Gathering data feels responsible and reduces the discomfort of choosing, so it can pass for diligence while it actually delays action. There is a second cost: once the extra information is in hand, people tend to let it sway the decision anyway. Eldar Shafir and Anthony Bastardi found that information people had waited for weighed on their choice even though the same facts, if already available, would not have mattered. It bites in hiring, purchasing, medical choices and strategy work that stalls in endless analysis. It tends to get worse when the stakes feel high, when blame for a bad outcome is likely, and when collecting data is cheap and easy.
Example
Requesting a fourth round of interviews when every result so far points to the same candidate. Reading yet more reviews of two laptops you would be happy with either way. Commissioning another market study when the launch date is already fixed whatever it says.
References
Baron, J., Beattie, J., & Hershey, J. C. (1988). Heuristics and Biases in Diagnostic Reasoning: II. Congruence, Information, and Certainty. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 42(1), 88-110.
Bastardi, A., & Shafir, E. (1998). On the Pursuit and Misuse of Useless Information. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 75(1), 19-32.
How to Prevent It
Doxa uses AI and can make mistakes. How it's built
What would I do differently depending on what this information says?
If every possible answer leads to the same choice, why am I asking?
Am I gathering data to decide, or to put off deciding?
What does waiting for this information cost in time, money or opportunity?
Would I have ignored this fact if it had been on the table from the start?
Before requesting data, write down the decision you would take for each possible result.
Set a deadline for the decision and stop collecting when it arrives.
List your decision criteria first, then gather only what bears on them.
Ask a colleague to challenge each new request: what would it change?
Accept a "good enough" threshold of certainty for reversible choices.
Related Decisions
Responding to a crisis
May wait for more data when acting now is what matters
Choosing a medical treatment
May seek extra tests or opinions that won't change the choice
Choosing a school or program
May keep researching schools long after the choice is clear