The DOI matches its Crossref record; 100 of the 100 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
The case for motivated reasoning.
Abstract
It is proposed that motivation may affect reasoning through reliance on a biased set of cognitive processes--that is, strategies for accessing, constructing, and evaluating beliefs. The motivation to be accurate enhances use of those beliefs and strategies that are considered most appropriate, whereas the motivation to arrive at particular conclusions enhances use of those that are considered most likely to yield the desired conclusion. There is considerable evidence that people are more likely to arrive at conclusions that they want to arrive at, but their ability to do so is constrained by their ability to construct seemingly reasonable justifications for these conclusions. These ideas can account for a wide variety of research concerned with motivated reasoning.
Overview
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
In the citing paper
“When people try to reason through an issue, they often work hard to find evidence that confirms their initial perspective 55-58 .”
From Predictors and consequences of intellectual humility (2022) · cites this paper as [58]
In the citing paper
“Khatun et al. (2022) and Ahsan et al. (2022) identify involuntary non-migrants in Bangladesh using retrospective, self-reported survey data, which run the risk of motivated reasoning (Kunda 1990).”
From Trapped by climate change? (In)voluntary immobility in Bangladesh (2025) · cites this paper as Kunda 1990
In the citing paper
“People may process information in a manner that is consistent with their partisan identities, prior beliefs, and motivations, a process known as motivated cognition (34–37).”
From Out-group animosity drives engagement on social media (2021) · cites this paper as [35]
In the citing paper
“The processing of false information is likely to be motivated by a confirmation bias (e.g., Hameleers et al., 2024): People are more likely to uncritically accept information when it reassures their worldviews and political attitudes, and critically scrutinize information when it does not confirm their existing worldviews (e.g., Kunda, 1990).”
From How persuasive are political cheapfakes disseminated via social media? The effects of out-of-context visual disinformation on message credibility and issue agreement (2025) · cites this paper as Kunda, 1990
In the citing paper
“Based on various theories, such as the theory of motivated reasoning, which explains that decisions are often based on pre-determined goals and desirability rather than an accurate reflection of the evidence (Kunda, 1990), researchers have identified a few individual variables that may motivate the person to believe misinformation they are exposed to.These include political orientation (Chen et al”
From Deepfakes, Democracy, and the Ethics of Synthetic Media: A Synthesis of the SOLARIS Project (2026) · cites this paper as Kunda, 1990
In the citing paper
“the reason being people's motivated reasoning (Grossman, 2014; Kunda, 1990)-the tendency to interpret reality in a self-serving way.”
From The Consequences of Participating in the Sharing Economy: A Transparency-Based Sharing Framework (2021) · cites this paper as Kunda, 1990
In the citing paper
“It is proposed that there are two distinct but coexisting human motivations that account for citizens' choice and consumption of political information: directional vs. accuracy (Kunda, 1990, or defensive vs. accuracy in Hart et al., 2009, or cognitive consistency vs. understanding in Holbert et al., 2013).”
From Do Search Algorithms Endanger Democracy? An Experimental Investigation of Algorithm Effects on Political Polarization (2020) · cites this paper as Kunda, 1990
In the citing paper
“The underlying reason for the reinforcing tendency of algorithms is that algorithms are naturally designed to operate with, not against, human tendencies, one of which is that people feel more comfortable with consistency and confirmation (Kunda, 1990).”
From Do Search Algorithms Endanger Democracy? An Experimental Investigation of Algorithm Effects on Political Polarization (2020) · cites this paper as Kunda, 1990
In the citing paper
“Yet, given the human tendency toward psychological consistency (Kunda, 1990), cognitive salience of counter-attitudinal ideas in the user mind would not be strong enough to drive routine searches online.”
From Do Search Algorithms Endanger Democracy? An Experimental Investigation of Algorithm Effects on Political Polarization (2020) · cites this paper as Kunda, 1990
In the citing paper
“The self has a powerful need to see itself as having integrity, but it must do so within the constraints of reality (Adler 2012, Kunda 1990, Pennebaker & Chung 2011, Wilson 2011).”
From The Psychology of Change: Self-Affirmation and Social Psychological Intervention (2014) · cites this paper as Kunda 1990
In the citing paper
“One kind of less epistemically rational but more epistemically committal belief in AI consciousness may manifest when AI users continue to attribute consciousness to chatbots even when strong evidence suggests otherwise, because their reasoning processes are distorted by cognitive or motivational biases.”
From Are Attributions of Consciousness to AI Chatbots Epistemically Innocent? (2026) · cites this paper as Kunda, 1990
In the citing paper
“many motivationally biased beliefs aren't yet fully insulated from counterevidence but depend on what has been called an”
From Are Attributions of Consciousness to AI Chatbots Epistemically Innocent? (2026) · cites this paper as Kunda, 1990
In the citing paper
“These mechanisms are best characterized as cognitive–motivational, insofar as they involve the goal-directed (motivational) use of information processing (cognition), as described in several classic social psychological theories88,96,97.”
From Cognitive–motivational mechanisms of political polarization in social-communicative contexts (2022) · cites this paper as [97]
In the citing paper
“It is also important to emphasize that many of these top-down influences occur automatically and without awareness (Kunda, 1990; Nickerson, 1998; Nisbett & Wilson, 1977; Wilson & Brekke, 1994).”
From Biased and biasing: the hidden bias cascade and bias snowball effects (2025) · cites this paper as Kunda, 1990
In the citing paper
“Thus, such use of reference materials causes motivation and expectations that then can bias the observations and interpretation of the actual evidence”
From Biased and biasing: the hidden bias cascade and bias snowball effects (2025) · cites this paper as Kunda, 1990
Citations
Cites
Judgment under Uncertainty: Heuristics and Biases
Tversky, A., & Kahneman, D. (1975) · Utility, Probability, and Human Decision Making · doi:10.1007/978-94-010-1834-0_8 · Cited by 22,650
A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance
Morvan, C., & O’Connor, A. (2017) · Macat Library eBooks · doi:10.4324/9781912282432 · Cited by 18,284
The psychology of interpersonal relations
Heider, F. (1958) · American Sociological Review · doi:10.2307/2089062 · Cited by 17,189
The Handbook of Social Psychology
Gravatt, A. E., Lindzey, G. E., & Aronson, F. (1969) · The Family Coordinator · doi:10.2307/582242 · Cited by 12,518
Availability: A heuristic for judging frequency and probability
Tversky, A., & Kahneman, D. (1973) · Cognitive Psychology · doi:10.1016/0010-0285(73)90033-9 · Cited by 9,984 · cited 2×
“In several studies, incentives or admonitions to be accurate did not eliminate bias ( Fischhoff, 1977 ; Kahneman & Tversky, 1972a ; Lord, Lepper, & Preston, 1984 ; Tversky & Kahneman, 1973 ).”
BackgroundThe Elaboration Likelihood Model of Persuasion
Petty, R. E., & Cacioppo, J. T. (1986) · Advances in Experimental Social Psychology · doi:10.1016/s0065-2601(08)60214-2 · Cited by 8,822
Illusion and well‐being: A social psychological perspective on mental health
Taylor, S. E., & Brown, J. D. (1988) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/0033-2909.103.2.193 · Cited by 7,814
Bem, D. J. (1972) · Advances in Experimental Social Psychology · doi:10.1016/s0065-2601(08)60024-6 · Cited by 5,241 · cited 2×
“Bem (1972) argued that the findings could also result from self-perception: The subjects, who have limited direct ac-”
BackgroundUnrealistic optimism about future life events
Weinstein, N. D. (1980) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.39.5.806 · Cited by 4,999
Subjective probability: A judgment of representativeness
Kahneman, D. J., & Tversky, A. (1972) · Cognitive Psychology · doi:10.1016/0010-0285(72)90016-3 · Cited by 4,996
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Items 7,401–7,500 of 9,025
Dong, L., Sarikas, R., & Djatej, A. M. (2019) · Journal of Global Business Insights · doi:10.5038/2640-6489.4.2.1070
The Paranoid Style and the Rise of Fake News in American PoliticsPreprint
Francia, P. L. (2019) · doi:10.33774/apsa-2019-p6gq5
Why Do You Believe in Pseudoscience or Disbelieve in Science?
Majima, Y. (2019) · Advances in religious and cultural studies (ARCS) book series · doi:10.4018/978-1-7998-1811-3.ch005
Counting What Counts: When and How Performance Indicators Mislead
Klinger, J. E. (2019) · UWSpace (University of Waterloo)
Kruglanski, A. W., Webber, D. J., & Köehler, D. (2019) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190851095.003.0008
Cultures of Prediction in Climate Science
Feola, G., Geoghegan, H., & Arnall, A. (2019) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108505284.003
EpilogueThe neo-Nazi Experience and the Psychology of Radicalization
Kruglanski, A. W., Webber, D. J., & Köehler, D. (2019) · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190851095.003.0010
Matanovic, S., Schmidt, M., & Wöhrmann, A. (2019) · Social Science Research Network · doi:10.2139/ssrn.3313746
Newman, L. S. (2019) · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190685942.003.0009
Keeney, J. E. (2019) · Carolina Digital Repository (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) · doi:10.17615/e6gd-d688
The Aristotelian Theory of Adjudication from the Perspective of Dual Process Theory
Golecki, M. J. (2018) · Principia · doi:10.4467/20843887pi.18.009.10868
Politics, Persuasion and ChoicePreprint
Godes, D., Mayzlin, D., Câmara, O., Chung, D. J., Hydock, C., Kotchmar, R., Lim, C., Moshary, S., Paharia, N., Wernerfelt, N., et al. (2019) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.3479876
Accuracy and Bias in Relationship Maintenance
Lemay, E. P., & Teneva, N. (2019) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108304320.013 · Cited by 2
Interest as a Starting Place for Philosophy
Talbot, B. R. (2012) · Essays in Philosophy · doi:10.5840/eip20121318
Thinking Off Your Feet: How Empirical Psychology Vindicates Armchair Philosophy, by Michael Strevens
Buckwalter, W. (2019) · Mind · doi:10.1093/mind/fzz072
The Dynamic Nature of Status Across Groups: Status Spillovers, Variance, and Disagreements
Fernandes, C. R. (2019) · Digital Access to Scholarship at Harvard (DASH) (Harvard University)
Making animal welfare matter : Positioning animal welfare as personally relevant
van Riemsdijk, L. (2019) · doi:10.18174/501688
Williams, C. (2019) · ThinkTech (Texas Tech University)
Measurement Considerations and Research Design
Settle, J. E. (2018) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108560573.013
Reitzes, D. C., Jaret, C., & Rockwell, A. (2020) · Sociological Quarterly · doi:10.1080/00380253.2019.1711253
Diverging Decisions? A Comparison of Jury Verdict Procedures
Burd, K. A., Hans, V. P., Phalen, H. J., Madon, S., Guyll, M., & Reed, K. (2025) · Behavioral Sciences · doi:10.3390/bs15121666
Preferencias adaptativas: un obstáculo pendiente para la renta básica
Zafrilla, P. J. P. (2019) · Veritas · doi:10.4067/s0718-92732019000300029
Das getäuschte Selbst – Wie mächtig sind wir Konsumenten eigentlich?
Bak, P. M. (2020) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-658-28559-3_2
Fadhila, L. R., & Islami, I. N. (2020) · Jurnal Akuntansi dan Bisnis · doi:10.20961/jab.v19i2.400
Gestión de los costos de comparación social en las organizaciones
Contreras, Ó., & Zanarone, G. (2018) · doi:10.36095/banxico/di.2018.25
Birtchnell, J. (2004) · Psychology Press eBooks · doi:10.4324/9780203501979-25
Coppola, V., Girandola, F., & Camus, O. (2020) · Studia Psychologica · doi:10.31577/sp.2020.01.788
Inventor motivation insight in the developing country: it’s not desire, but effort to invent
Can, N. H. (2020) · Technology Analysis and Strategic Management · doi:10.1080/09537325.2020.1746262 · Cited by 1
Locking in Segregation through Suburban Control
Trounstine, J. L. (2018) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108555722.009
Araiza, A. M., & Freitas, A. L. (2020) · Collabra Psychology · doi:10.1525/collabra.259
The Polarized Nation That Segregation Built
Trounstine, J. L. (2018) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108555722.010
Religion: more essential (and existential) nutrient than opiate for the masses
Adam‐Troian, J., & Motyl, M. S. (2020) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-817204-9.00029-9 · Cited by 1
Risk perception, uncertainty, and facility siting: Lessons from merchant power in California
Schively, C. (2004) · PhDT
Facebook in Context: Theorizing Interaction on Twenty-First-Century Social Media
Settle, J. E. (2018) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108560573.002 · Cited by 1
Structure Interviews to Hire the Best People
Stevens, C. K. (2017) · doi:10.1002/9781405164047.ch3
Ways of Learning, Ways of Knowing
Boykoff, M. (2019) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108164047.005
Populism and Leader Polarization in Venezuela, Ecuador, and Turkey
Selçuk, O. (2019) · FIU - Digital Commons (Florida International University) · doi:10.25148/etd.fidc007060 · Cited by 1
Toward a Macroprudential Regulatory Framework for Mutual FundsPreprint
Argyropoulos, C., Candelon, B., Hasse, J., & Panopoulou, E. (2020) · RePEc: Research Papers in Economics
Trounstine, J. L. (2018) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108555722.007
A Theory of Segregation by Design
Trounstine, J. L. (2018) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108555722.003
Choi, S., Furceri, D., & Jalles, J. T. (2020) · RePEc: Research Papers in Economics
Motivated Reasoning in a Causal Explore-Exploit Task
Caddick, Z. A. (2020) · D-Scholarship@Pitt (University of Pittsburgh)
Preface: Creativity, Collaboration, Confrontation
Boykoff, M. (2019) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108164047.001
Abbott, L. J., & Buslepp, W. L. (2018) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.3216232
Do Racial Stereotypes Contribute to Medical Misdiagnosis of Child Abuse?
Najdowski, C. J., Bernstein, K. M., & Wahrer, K. S. (2020) · The Wrongful Conviction Law Review · doi:10.29173/wclawr23
Principles of Care of Survivors of Organized Violence in a Global Society
Porterfield, K. (2020) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108348607.025
Conducting Psychological Research across Borders
Bullock, M., & Zakowski, S. G. (2020) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108348607.034
Segregation’s Negative Consequences
Trounstine, J. L. (2018) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108555722.008
Debiasing and the Abortion Debate: An Analysis of Integrative Complexity
Bulger, R. (2020) · DigitalGeorgetown (Georgetown University Library)
Human Rights, Psychology, and Artificial Intelligence
Koenig, K. A., & Nonnecke, B. M. (2020) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108348607.040
Human Rights of Persons with Disabilities
Hashimoto, J., Izutsu, T., & Tsutsumi, A. (2020) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108348607.012
Socio-psychological barriers to resolve peacefully intractable conflicts
Bar‐Tal, D. (2019) · Психологија наука и практика/Psychology science and practice · doi:10.37509/psyscip1956009bt
Behavioral Insights, Public Policy, and Human Rights
O’Neil, S., Lace, A., & Thompson, L. F. (2020) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108348607.029
Rubin, N. S., Flores, R. L., Gary, J. M., Nolan, S. A., & Ober, T. M. (2020) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108348607.041
Networked Deliberation across Political Difference
Tanasoca, A. (2020) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780198851479.003.0007
Mechanisms of Symbolic Support for Deliberation
Tanasoca, A. (2020) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780198851479.003.0003
Mechanisms of External Public Spectacle
Tanasoca, A. (2020) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780198851479.003.0006
Mechanisms of Internal Deliberation
Tanasoca, A. (2020) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780198851479.003.0004
Mechanisms of Deliberating Together
Tanasoca, A. (2020) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780198851479.003.0005
Thinking Fast and Slow in Alliance Politics
Lee, Y. J. (2020) · Digital Access to Scholarship at Harvard (DASH) (Harvard University)
Moscrop, D. (2020) · Identity in a changing world · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-38270-4_18
Klein, T., & Shammas, E. (2020) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108870504.005
Message Repetition and Epistemic Overinclusion
Tanasoca, A. (2020) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780198851479.003.0009
Klein, T., & Shammas, E. (2020) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108870504.008
Sensitive Issues and Pluralistic Ignorance
Tanasoca, A. (2020) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780198851479.003.0008
Mechanisms of Deliberation in the Formal Political System
Tanasoca, A. (2020) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780198851479.003.0002
Costs of Fallacy Mind to the Global EconomicsPreprint
Bayraktar, M. (2018) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.3290774
Nanassy, A. D. (2020) · The Wiley Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences · doi:10.1002/9781119547143.ch2
Bazaa, U., & Bucy, E. P. (2020) · doi:10.33774/apsa-2020-2v3rd
Savadori, L., Espa, G., & Dickson, M. M. (2020) · RePEc: Research Papers in Economics · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2011.02362
Consecuencias no esperadas y diseño de la legislación de protección del consumidor
Becher, S. I. (2020) · Revista de la Facultad de Derecho de México · doi:10.22201/fder.24488933e.2020.278-1.77380
Changing Climate Change Beliefs Through Source Matching
Davis, G. H. B. (2018) · The Knowledge Bank (The Ohio State University)
القیم والمعتقدات السیاسیة وسلوک التصویت:التفضیلات السیاسیة فى الانتخابات الرئاسیة 2012
حسن, ب. ح. (2014) · المجلة العلمية بکلية الآداب · doi:10.21608/jartf.2014.122220
Individual approaches to workplace tensions: implications for creativity and work engagement
Shao, Y. (2020) · University of Groningen research database (University of Groningen / Centre for Information Technology) · doi:10.33612/diss.134201100
The Impact of the MeToo Scandal on Women’s Perceptions of SafetyPreprint
Ouali, L. A. B., & Graham, D. J. (2020) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.3520019
Cognition: comparison processes within and between individuals
Guimond, S. (2005)
Balfour, W. T. (2020) · Digital Commons (Liberty University)
The Importance of Interest Development Across STEM Learning Environments
DuBoff, B. (2020) · Educational communications and technology: issues and innovations · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-53875-0_6 · Cited by 1
Belief formation and prosocial behavior
Tripodi, E. (2020) · Cadmus - EUI Research Repository (European University Institute) · doi:10.2870/85968
The Flow of Political Information
Jungherr, A. M., Rivero, G., & Gayo-Avello, D. (2020) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108297820.002
Science in the Spotlight: A Crisis of Confidence?
Feine, J. S., & Jakubovics, N. S. (2020) · Journal of Dental Research · doi:10.1177/0022034520978153
The effects of liking for activities on perceived spare time
Tran, A. T. K., & Keel, A. L. (2020) · Journal of Consumer Marketing · doi:10.1108/jcm-04-2020-3778
The Impact of Investors' Status and Information Presentation on Investors' Judgments*Preprint
Cianci, A. M., Asare, S. K., & Falsetta, D. (2006) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.927848
Jollineau, S. J., Tanlu, L. D., & Winn, A. M. (2012) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.2230535
Similar States, Opposite Outcomes
Dornschneider, S. (2021) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190693916.003.0002
Ego-Utility and Endogenous Information Acquisition; An Experimental StudyPreprint
Miklánek, T. (2017) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.2959384
Jungherr, A. M., Rivero, G., & Gayo-Avello, D. (2020) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108297820.007
Dornschneider, S. (2021) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190693916.003.0004
Hot Contention, Cool Abstention
Dornschneider, S. (2021) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190693916.003.0005
A Bitter Pill to Swallow? The Consequences of Patient Evaluation in Online Health Q&A PlatformsPreprint
Chen, C., & Walker, D. (2019) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.3360192
Identifying Beliefs and Inferences
Dornschneider, S. (2021) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190693916.003.0003
Metadata
- Authors
- Kunda, Z.
- Affiliations
- Princeton University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Kunda, Ziva
- Venue
- Psychological Bulletin
- Published
- 1990
- Volume
- 108
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 480-498
- ISSN
- 0033-2909 (ISSN-L)
- 1939-1455
- OpenAlex
- W2149893809
- Cited by
- 9,022
- References
- 100
- Citations by year
- 2026: 542 · 2025: 609 · 2024: 519 · 2023: 583 · 2022: 640 · 2021: 606 · 2020: 642 · 2019: 631 · 2018: 483 · 2017: 372 · 2016: 331 · 2015: 321 · 2014: 299 · 2013: 231 · 2012: 258
- FWCI
- 23.45
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Psychological Bulletin (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institutes of Health (5r01mh042239-03)
- National Institute of Mental Health (1 RO1 MH42239-01A1)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Decision Sciences › General Decision Sciences › Decision-Making and Behavioral Economics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Social and Intergroup Psychology
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Psychology of Social Influence
- Keywords
- motivated reasoning, motivation, belief evaluation, cognitive strategies, accuracy motivation, confirmation bias, justification
- MeSH terms
- Attitude, Concept Formation, Humans, Motivation, Problem Solving, Social Perception
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
