Motivated Reasoning

The availability heuristic is a method of making decisions based on familiar facts - anything that has left a lasting impression on our minds.

There is too much information circulating in society to evaluate the truth of each point or lack thereof. To combat this, we create mental shortcuts...

Knowing something does not imply that you will act rationally on it.

Willpower isn't always up to the challenge of resisting temptation.

Preventing yourself from acting on temptation is one approach to fighting it.

If you go shopping after you've eaten, for example, it's much ea...

Selective ignorance can also be used to combat bias. That is why jury members are not allowed to see inadmissible evidence obtained through coercion or hearsay.

Good scientists also protect their work from bias by performing double-blind studies in which they are unaware of which patients r...

The genetic fallacy describes accepting a claim as true or false solely based on its origin. An idea's source doesn’t validate or invalidate its claim to truth, yet it is one of the most prevalent fallacies you will encounter in the 21st century.

Myopic discounting is the reversal of preference based on the distance to the reward. Its name derives from myopia, which means a lack of discernment or foreseeing. 

The preference reversal is called myopic, or nearsighted, because we see an attractive temptation that is near to us in time ...

The definition of rational, according to dictionaries, is "having a reason." And the term reason derives from the Latin word ratio, which means "reason."

Rationality, according to philosophers, is the ability to use information to achieve goals. 

The term "knowledge" ...

The conjunction fallacy occurs when a person assumes that specific conditions are more likely than a single general one. 

‍What are people thinking? A class of events described by a single statement can be generic and abstract, with nothing for the mind to hold on to. A class of events desc...

Bayes’ rule or Bayes’ Theorem is the law of probability governing the strength of evidence—the rule saying how much to revise our probabilities (change our minds) when we learn a new fact or observe new evidence.

Probabilistic thinking means avoiding absolutes. When we expr...

• Rationality is a tool for achieving a goal.
• Rationality aids in the decision-making process.
• Ignorance and self-restraint are both viable options.
• Science is the application of logic to the real world.
• We become less partial — and more sensible – as a result o...

According to the bandwagon fallacy, something is true simply because it is popular; therefore, the popularity of something validates its truth.

Product advertisers use this ploy every time they use phrases like “most popular,” despite the fact that the popularity of a product is irrelevant ...

The media has amplified our irrational judgments. One classic example is the safety of flying versus driving.

The world’s roads account for 1.3 million fatal accidents each year, while plane crashes kill 250 people. 

We hear about the single plane crash of the year, but not about the ...

When someone makes a claim to promote an emotional response rather than provide relevant facts to support their argument, they commit the appeal to emotion fallacy.

While arguments often contain emotional components, the appeal to emotion fallacy occurs when a person uses emotion to manipul...

When we pass judgment on someone simply because they are associated with someone we already have an opinion about, this is known as the guilty by association, or association fallacy.

If there is a particular podcast host we dislike because of their terrible takes, every guest of theirs may ...

In literary criticism, the affective fallacy refers to evaluating works based on the effect they have on the reader, who is free to reject anything deemed harmful, hurtful, or uncomfortable. The opposite is equally true. Although often described as a literary criticism term, the fallacy applies t...

Hyperbolic discounting is closely related to myopic discounting and points out our tendency to choose immediate rewards over future ones, even when the immediate rewards are smaller. Succumbing to this tendency results in poor decision-making because it promotes impulsivity and immediate gratific...

Confirmation bias causes us to focus on the information that reinforces our beliefs while ignoring or distorting disconfirming evidence. Part of this reasoning is our tendency to treat ideas like possessions, things we wish to retain at all costs.

People are often more concerned with winnin...

When one path is blocked, we may always attempt another. This is human rationality in action.

Reason is a tool for achieving a goal. 

Passions are the source of goals. That is, feelings such as love, rage, pride, envy, and fear stem from desires, drives, and emotions like love, anger,...