Motivated Reasoning (Soldier Mindset)
Motivated reasoning is the unconscious tendency to process information in a way that defends our preexisting beliefs, making us feel objective while acting like soldiers protecting a fortress.
THE IDEA
REASONING AS DEFENSIVE COMBAT
The tricky thing about motivated reasoning is that even though it’s easy to spot in other people, it doesn’t feel like motivated reasoning from the inside. When we reason, it feels like we’re being objective. Fair-minded. Dispassionately evaluating the facts.
Beneath the surface of our conscious awareness, however, it’s as if we’re soldiers, defending our beliefs against threatening evidence. In fact, the metaphor of reasoning as a kind of defensive combat is baked right into the English language, so much so that it’s difficult to speak about reasoning at all without using militaristic language.6
We talk about our beliefs as if they’re military positions, or even fortresses, built to resist attack. Beliefs can be deep-rooted, well-grounded, built on fact, and backed up by arguments. They rest on solid foundations. We might hold a firm conviction or a strong opinion, be secure in our beliefs or have unshakeable faith in something.
Arguments are either forms of attack or forms of defense. If we’re not careful, someone might poke holes in our logic or shoot down our ideas. We might encounter a knock-down argument against something we believe. Our positions might get challenged, destroyed, undermined, or weakened. So we look for evidence to support, bolster, or buttress our position. Over time, our views become reinforced, fortified, and cemented. And we become entrenched in our beliefs, like soldiers holed up in a trench, safe from the enemy’s volleys.
And if we do change our minds? That’s surrender. If a fact is inescapable, we might admit, grant, or allow it, as if we’re letting it inside our walls. If we realize our position is indefensible, we might abandon it, give it up, or concede a point, as if we’re ceding ground in a battle.*
When to use it
When evaluating opposing political or social viewpoints, recognize that both sides may be engaging in motivated reasoning.
In team decision-making, encourage members to play devil's advocate to counteract the group's collective motivated reasoning.
When receiving criticism of your work, separate the defensive impulse from a genuine evaluation of the feedback's merit.
In scientific reasoning, use pre-registration and blind analysis to reduce motivated reasoning in interpreting data.
FROM THEORY TO EVERYDAY LIFE
In practice
Political Debate
During a heated political discussion, you instinctively dismiss evidence that contradicts your favored candidate's policies, while uncritically accepting any attack on the opponent. You feel you are being logical, but you're actually defending your political identity.
Personal Health Decision
You believe a certain diet is healthy. When a study shows it may be harmful, you immediately find flaws in the study's methodology, yet you readily accept a different study that supports your original belief. This is motivated reasoning in action.
A MOMENT TO REFLECT
Put it to work.
Think of a time you strongly disagreed with someone. Did you feel like you were being objective? In hindsight, might you have been defending a prior belief?
What beliefs do you hold most firmly? Can you identify any evidence that would genuinely change your mind?
When you encounter information that challenges your views, do you instinctively argue against it or do you pause to consider it fairly?
CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION
Source texts
- The Scout Mindset (Julia Galef)