What would have gotten these participants closer to the answer, looking for answers that confirm or disconfirm their beliefs?

Challenge your confirmation bias by looking for disconfirming information.

• We are all prone to look only for information that confirms our beliefs (confirmation bias). If you really want to determine the accuracy or reliability of a claim, however, you will need to challenge this bias by intentionally seeking out disconfirming information. In other words, earnestly look for sources that will prove the author (or you) wrong.
• To look earnestly for disconfirming information, double-check the questions you ask and the search terms you use. This practice will make it more likely that your searches don't lead only to sources that corroborate the claim.

When your steadfast opinions are tested, Galef asks: "What do you most yearn for? Do you yearn to defend your own beliefs or do you yearn to see the world as clearly as you possibly can?"

Challenge your motivated reasoning bias by adopting a scout mindset:

• Be curious
• Be open
• Be grounded

The Joy of Being Wrong by Freethink & The John Templeton Foundation

"The scientific method asks us to test every idea, question every theory... intellectual humility is the same principal applied to the individual."

On Being Wrong by Kathryn Schulz

Schulz's book, by the same title, is available at FC Library (2nd Floor ; BD171 .S3273 2011)