Not so much rational but rationalizing: Humans evolved as coherence-seeking, fiction-making animals.

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Cognitive Science
• Social Psychology

Background:

• Evidence suggests human judgment is biased, while nonhuman animals exhibit ecological rationality.
• The traditional view of humans as the sole
• rational animal
• may be inaccurate.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose humans are better understood as the
• rationalizing animal
• .
• To provide evidence that rationalization is a uniquely human trait.

Main Methods:

• Review of psychological evidence on cognitive dissonance reduction.
• Analysis of post hoc justification of choices.
• Examination of confabulation in moral reasoning.

Main Results:

• Rationalization processes create preferred fictions and maintain an illusion of psychological coherence.
• Human coherence is often prioritized over accuracy, with distorted perceptions being adaptive.
• Rationalization underpins shared beliefs, religions, norms, and ideologies facilitating large-scale human coordination.

Conclusions:

• Rationalization is a unique human psychological trait with significant implications for individual and societal functioning.
• Understanding humans as rationalizers, rather than purely rational beings, offers a more accurate psychological perspective.
• The adaptive nature of rationalization, even at the cost of veridicality, highlights its evolutionary importance.