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Rationalization is rare, reasoning is pervasive.

Audun Dahl1, Talia Waltzer1

  • 1Psychology Department, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA95064. dahl@ucsc.edutwaltzer@ucsc.eduhttps://esil.ucsc.edu/people/audun-dahl/https://sites.google.com/site/taliawaltzer/.

The Behavioral and Brain Sciences
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Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Rationalization is rare, occurring only when choices are comparable. Reasoning, however, is common in decision-making, especially in ambiguous situations. Careful definitions are key to studying these cognitive processes.

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Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Decision-Making Science

Background:

  • Human discourse relies on the premise that decisions are not always post-hoc justifications.
  • Understanding the prevalence and boundaries of rationalization is crucial for cognitive science.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the actual prevalence of rationalization in human decision-making.
  • To differentiate rationalization from pervasive reasoning processes.
  • To identify conditions under which rationalization may occur.

Main Methods:

  • Review of key empirical evidence on decision-making and justification.
  • Analysis of cognitive processes distinguishing rationalization from reasoning.
  • Examination of decision scenarios, particularly those involving comparable options and ambiguity.

Main Results:

  • Rationalization is not ubiquitous; it is rare and primarily observed when individuals choose between closely matched alternatives.
  • Reasoning is the dominant cognitive process in most human decision-making.
  • Rationalization may function within the scope of reasoning, particularly in ambiguous contexts.

Conclusions:

  • The fundamental premise of human discourse is largely upheld, as rationalization is infrequent.
  • Distinguishing rationalization from reasoning requires precise definitions and operationalizations for accurate study.
  • Future research should focus on the nuanced interplay between reasoning and rationalization in specific decision-making contexts.