Confirmation bias is one kind of cognitive biases. It includes <u>favoring information that confirm or support our existing beliefs or previous biases</u>. So, we remember, recall, and interpret information that support our existing ideas better and more easily than those that oppose our ideas.
Here, Mrs.Zumpano has an existing bias i.e. boys are naughtier than girls, so she watches boys more than girls and looks for signs that support her belief.
The fill in the blank is the separation of powers. Knowing this from the statement "<span>The power to enforce the rulings is vested in a separate branch of government than the power to issue the rulings."