Motivated Reasoning: What Is It And How Is It Associated With Emotions?
Christmas dinners are tense situations. Not because the food may not have turned out well at all, nor because of the cold, nor because of the absences, but because there are many people gathered together and they all have different opinions.
But don’t worry, all these guests agree on at least one thing: they all believe they are right.
Motivated reasoning It amounts to believing that one’s opinion is the best of all opinions and having and ignoring any data that demonstrates that this is not the case. We all experience it in our daily lives, and below we will see in more depth what it is and why it occurs.
Motivated reasoning is a cognitive bias in which individual aspects are involved, including emotions, stereotypes, fears, beliefs and subconscious reasoning. These cognitive aspects influence decision making, making the person believe that they are acting rationally without actually being so. All aspects influence the way reality is perceived.
The information that the person receives is processed in such a way that it coincides with one’s own point of view. The person gives greater importance to the data that gives strength to his own vision of the world, while those that are contrary or refute what he believes in are simply omitted. This is because, basically, It is very difficult to change our opinion and see what is wrong although we are “experts” in trying to dismantle other people’s points of view.
This phenomenon occurs especially when people cling to their beliefs, no matter how false and detachable they may be. People want their own point of view to win, to be what describes reality most closely. An attack on these beliefs is perceived as a personal attack. Our judgment is influenced by which side or opinion we want to win.
A clear example of this can be seen in soccer games. Every fan of every football team has been a victim of this phenomenon on more than one occasion. When the referee blows his whistle on his own team, it is very common for the fans to criticize the referee, calling him anything but nice things. On the other hand, if the referee whistles at the rival team, the fans have no qualms about agreeing with him and even calling the opponent big cheaters.
Soldier’s Mind Vs. explorer’s mind
Two types of minds have been proposed that relate to the way in which one is able to self-criticize one’s own beliefs: the mind of the soldier and the mind of the explorer.
On the one hand, the mind of the soldier is related to the typical profile of a person with a certain opinion who is incapable of conceiving any idea far from his own vision of the world, defending his own point of view at all costs. They are the people who They have no qualms about stating lies, rejecting evidence and making others see how wrong they are.
On the other side is the mind of the explorer, which would correspond to that of that person who, Even having a different vision from that of others, he dares to explore facts and explanations that could question your own way of seeing the world, allowing you to have a more flexible opinion.
Why are we convinced that we are right?
There are several aspects related to the insistence of believing that you are right and that others are wrong, even if this is not the case. Below we will see the main points.
1. Emotional bond
In every belief there are emotions involved, which act by directing our thinking. That is why, when looking for information about something we believe in, we prefer to look for what agrees with us instead of debating it.
2. Avoid cognitive dissonance
Cognitive dissonance is a phenomenon that occurs when new information contradicts what was believed or what configures one’s value system. This dissonance can cause anxiety although that would be an extreme case.
Be that as it may, this cognitive dissonance requires a certain intellectual effort, something that is usually avoided. For this reason, motivated reasoning is used, unconsciously, as a mechanism to avoid finding yourself in this situation.
It is less lazy to believe in pleasant lies than in uncomfortable truths.
3. Maintain a positive self-image
What we believe in is not just a way of seeing the world. It is something that gives us strength and constitutes a very important pillar in the way we relate to the world and in the image we have of ourselves.
If something is said that contradicts what we believe in, we can take it as a personal attack, as something that calls into question our own way of being.
Motivated reasoning is a protection mechanism for the Freudian ‘ego’, for our self-esteem.
4. Presumption of objectivity
Everyone sees themselves as objective, rational, who knows how to differentiate between logic and emotion. However, and to be honest, Everyone has a certain resistance to allowing data contrary to what they believe to settle in their mind.
We are not rational, or at least not in the way we think we are. Otherwise, why are there so many arguments at Christmas dinners?
5. Cultural validation
We share many points of view with other people, which help us feel accepted by others, delimiting the ingroup and the outgroup and feeling like people who have the truth on their side.
Accepting ideas that are outside the group to which one belongs can cause some anxiety and a feeling of rootlessness or, in some cases, it can even be perceived as a kind of betrayal of the ingroup.
Social implications
Motivated reasoning is extremely common and normal, and having this type of cognitive bias is not necessarily a bad thing, however, taking it to the extreme can be a real problem for different reasons.
This type of reasoning is easily visible in any voter of any party. The voter will always want to see the good of the party, and ignore the bad or objectionable things that he has committed. Within limits, this is acceptable and healthy. It stops being so good when the party you vote for is corrupt or commits rights violations. If you continue defending him at all costs, it is clear that you are not choosing to be impartial.
Thus, if there are many people who are incapable of being critical of this party and continue voting for it, there is a risk of having a person who will steal from the coffers of the state or the city council, prioritizing having money in their own pocket in instead of investing it in social aid, better urban furniture, avoiding cuts in education…
Another case, even more serious, is that of pseudoscientific beliefs such as that the earth is flat, there is no climate change or that vaccines cause autism… All these statements are easily dismantled with a little science and analyzing the multiple evidence that has been found. However, a person who believes in this type of ideas, despite all the scientific evidence available to him, will not accept it, saying that he is the one who is explaining who is either manipulated or in a big mistake.
It is in this case that we can see a very serious social implication, and that is to endanger the health of others. For example, if you believe that vaccines cause autism, you will not get vaccinated or your children, potentially leaving your family susceptible to serious, preventable illnesses. Furthermore, if there is someone in the neighborhood who is not vaccinated either, they could become infected, causing a pandemic.
Not believing in climate change and undervaluing the studies that show it is happening can have social implications such as running out of food due to extreme floods and droughts, in addition to the loss of useful species for humans that cannot tolerate high temperatures.
