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reasoning
You accept illogical arguments if the conclusion feels true.
Belief bias is the tendency to judge the strength of an argument based on the believability of its conclusion rather than its logic.
If a conclusion aligns with your existing worldviews, you are likely to overlook formal errors in the reasoning process. Research shows that people consistently rate invalid syllogisms as 'logical' when the outcome matches their own beliefs. Your brain seeks validation, not verification.
You ignore the path if you like the destination.
Where this comes from
- Study
- Evans, Barston, and Pollard, 1983, British Journal of Psychology
- What the check found
- The definition is accurate and the seminal 1983 study by Evans, Barston, and Pollard is correctly cited as the source identifying this phenomenon in syllogistic reasoning.
- Confidence
- Well replicated
Related
One of these every day, and every one names the study it came from. When a finding is contested, it says so.