Motivated reasoning

Common card · No. 307556

Motivated reasoning is a mental process through which individuals access, construct, and evaluate their beliefs in response to new information or experiences where their biases cause them to arrive at desired conclusions. While most people may be more likely to arrive at conclusions they want, such desires are generally constrained by the ability to construct a reasonable justification. Motivated reasoning may involve personal choices, such as continuing to smoke after encountering evidence of the health effects of tobacco, leading to personal justifications for doing so. Other beliefs have social and political significance, being associated with deeply held values and identities. Political reasoning involves the goal of identity protection or maintaining status within an affinity group united by shared values. Current research in motivated reasoning has been affected by technological change, both in the methods used by researchers and in the behavior being studied. Researchers employ...

Read on Wikipedia