Abstract Studies on the extent of confirmation bias among auditors have obtained mixed results. Based on Klayman and Ha (1987, 1989), this study is an examination of confirmation bias in terms of a positive test strategy. The results suggest that inconsistent findings of prior studies may be attributed to the failure to consider intermediate hypotheses. Auditors in this study employed a predominantly positive test strategy. Moreover, contrary to prior implications, the strategy was found to be a useful heuristic for determining the truth of a hypothesis in some conditions.
Peterson et al. (Wed,) studied this question.