Motivated Reasoning – A Cognitive Bias
A Cognitive Bias That Deeply Affects Scam Victims Especially During Recovery
Primary Category: Scam Victim Recovery Psychology
Authors:
• Vianey Gonzalez B.Sc(Psych) – Psychologist, Certified Deception Professional, Psychology Advisory Panel & Director of the Society of Citizens Against Relationship Scams Inc.
• Tim McGuinness, Ph.D. – Anthropologist, Scientist, Director of the Society of Citizens Against Relationship Scams Inc.
About This Article
Motivated reasoning is a cognitive bias where individuals interpret information to align with their desires or beliefs, often at the expense of objectivity.
Scam victims may rely on this bias to ignore red flags during the scam or rationalize decisions that go against their best interests. Even during recovery, motivated reasoning can lead them to overestimate their progress by focusing on minor successes and avoiding deeper emotional work.
Recognizing and addressing this bias is key to making informed decisions and achieving genuine recovery.
Motivated Reasoning and Its Impact on Scam Victims, Especially During Recovery
What is Motivated Reasoning?
Motivated reasoning is a cognitive bias where individuals process information in a way that supports their existing beliefs, desires, or emotions rather than seeking objective truth. In other words, people engage in motivated reasoning to align facts with what they want to believe, ignoring or discounting evidence that challenges their views. This bias can be particularly harmful to scam victims, as it can prevent them from recognizing the warning signs of a scam, acknowledging that they have been deceived, or making sound decisions to recover from the experience.
What Happens in the Brain During Motivated Reasoning?
Motivated reasoning is driven by emotional responses in the brain, particularly involving areas like the amygdala, which processes emotions such as fear, anger, and hope, and the prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for decision-making and reasoning. When someone encounters information that aligns with their desires or beliefs, the brain rewards them with a sense of comfort or pleasure. This reaction is related to the release of dopamine, a neurotransmitter linked to feelings of satisfaction.
On the other hand, when confronted with information that contradicts their beliefs or expectations, individuals experience discomfort or cognitive dissonance. The brain’s natural response is to minimize this discomfort by dismissing or rationalizing away the contradictory information. As a result, people engaged in motivated reasoning are more likely to favor emotionally satisfying outcomes, even when those outcomes are objectively incorrect or harmful.
How the Mind Uses Motivated Reasoning
When a person is motivated to believe in a particular outcome—such as the belief that a romantic relationship initiated online is genuine or that a financial opportunity is legitimate—they will subconsciously seek out and interpret evidence that confirms this belief. Motivated reasoning influences how the mind processes information by:
- Confirmation Bias: People tend to seek out information that supports their existing beliefs and ignore or minimize evidence that contradicts them. For example, a scam victim may overlook red flags in a scammer’s behavior because they want to believe the person is trustworthy.
- Disconfirmation Bias: This occurs when individuals actively challenge and discredit evidence that goes against their desired conclusion. A victim might dismiss warnings from friends or family, insisting that their relationship or investment is real despite clear evidence to the contrary.
- Selective Memory: The mind can selectively remember information that supports desired outcomes while forgetting or downplaying contradictory information. This allows individuals to create a narrative that aligns with their beliefs, making it harder to recognize the scam.
A Cognitive Bias
In addition to Motivated Reasoning being a cognitive bias itself, it also works with other cognitive biases like optimism bias and sunk cost fallacy play significant roles in motivated reasoning. Optimism bias leads people to believe that they are less likely than others to experience negative outcomes. This bias can cause scam victims to believe they are too smart to be scammed, even when they are in the middle of one.
The sunk cost fallacy, on the other hand, occurs when individuals continue to invest in a losing situation because they have already committed resources (time, money, or emotion). Scam victims often fall prey to this bias, rationalizing that they need to continue with the scam to recover their investment, rather than cutting their losses.
How Scam Victims Experience Motivated Reasoning
Scam victims are often driven by hope, fear, or a sense of desperation, which fuels their motivated reasoning. Whether they are involved in a romance scam or a financial scam, victims may cling to the idea that they will eventually receive what was promised to them—love, money, or success. The emotional investment they have made in the scam clouds their ability to objectively evaluate the situation. As a result, they may downplay red flags, trust the scammer’s excuses, and continue investing resources even when others advise them to stop.
Motivated Reasoning in Scam Victims’ Recovery
Scam victims often use motivated reasoning to assess their progress in recovery, interpreting information in a way that reinforces their emotional desires or expectations.
For example, a victim might overestimate their progress by focusing on small achievements while ignoring larger unresolved issues, such as lingering trust issues or ongoing financial distress. This biased evaluation can create a false sense of progress, preventing them from addressing core emotional wounds or seeking further help.
Additionally, motivated reasoning may lead victims to avoid difficult emotional work by convincing themselves that they have moved past the trauma when they are still profoundly affected. They might selectively remember moments of strength and resilience while downplaying (equivocating or minimizing) episodes of anxiety, fear, or frustration.
This cognitive bias prevents honest self-assessment, making it harder for victims to fully confront their emotional scars and truly heal from the experience. Recognizing these tendencies is essential for genuine recovery, ensuring that scam victims don’t fall into the trap of superficial progress.
Recognizing Motivated Reasoning
Identifying when you are thinking with motivated reasoning is challenging, especially in emotionally charged situations. Here are some signs that you may be engaging in this cognitive bias:
- Ignoring Contradictory Evidence: If you find yourself dismissing or avoiding information that contradicts what you want to believe, this may be a sign of motivated reasoning.
- Overvaluing Supporting Evidence: Pay attention to whether you are placing too much importance on information that confirms your beliefs while neglecting critical analysis.
- Rationalizing Red Flags: If you find yourself making excuses for behaviors or situations that should raise concern, you may be rationalizing to maintain your emotional comfort.
- Feeling Defensive: A strong emotional reaction to criticism or questions about your decision-making, especially when you feel the need to defend your choices, can indicate motivated reasoning.
How to Avoid Motivated Reasoning
Overcoming motivated reasoning requires conscious effort and self-awareness. Here are some strategies to help avoid falling into this cognitive trap:
- Seek Diverse Perspectives: Actively listen to feedback from others, even if it’s uncomfortable. Friends, family, or professionals may see things more objectively and can offer valuable insights.
- Challenge Your Assumptions: Regularly question your own beliefs and the reasons behind your decisions. Ask yourself, “Am I choosing to believe this because it’s true, or because I want it to be true?”
- Look for Disconfirming Evidence: Instead of focusing only on information that supports your beliefs, actively seek out evidence that contradicts them. This will help you make more balanced, informed decisions.
- Take a Step Back: In emotionally charged situations, it’s important to take time to process information. Stepping away from the situation allows you to approach it with a clearer, more objective mindset.
- Consider the Risks: Focus on the potential risks of your decisions, not just the rewards. Evaluating the consequences of being wrong can help you make more rational choices.
Summary
Motivated reasoning is a powerful cognitive bias that can distort judgment, particularly in emotionally charged situations like scams. By understanding how motivated reasoning works and recognizing its signs, scam victims can take steps to avoid it and make more objective decisions. Seeking out diverse perspectives, questioning assumptions, and considering risks are all essential in overcoming this cognitive bias and protecting oneself from further harm.
Please Leave Us Your Comment
Also, tell us of any topics we might have missed.
Leave a Reply
Thank you for your comment. You may receive an email to follow up. We never share your data with marketers.
Recent Reader Comments
- on Scam Victims Finding Meaning in Life After the Scam – 2024: “We knew, we read your mind!” Oct 5, 00:25
- on Scam Victims Finding Meaning in Life After the Scam – 2024: “I really needed this article today to help me get unstuck on the challenges of forgiveness and inner peace. It…” Oct 4, 06:12
- on Reclaiming Your Worth: A Scam Survivor’s Guide to Navigating Your Worthiness After a Scam – 2023: “Thank you for the courage in your comment! You are a SURVIVOR!” Oct 3, 23:21
- on Reclaiming Your Worth: A Scam Survivor’s Guide to Navigating Your Worthiness After a Scam – 2023: “I’ve had to read this article a few times and reflected on it’s significance to my trauma. I needed a…” Oct 3, 20:29
- on Rebuilding Trust: The Scam Victim’s Journey from Victimhood to Empowerment – 2024: “Rebuilding trust triggers me. That tells me I have more to do yet. In time I will be up to…” Oct 2, 15:24
- on A Typical Scam Victim Journey Through Recovery Challenges – 2024: “I enjoy reading the articles, they are full of great information. I really like the pyramid: 1. Trauma 2. Shame,…” Oct 1, 23:06
- on The Butterfly Effect And Scam Victims – 2024: “Dealing with the aftermath of the scam is overwhelming. Even though the recovery process is well laid out, the journey…” Oct 1, 18:30
- on Faith And Why It Matters In Scam Victim Recovery – 2024: “Excellent explanation of Faith vs. FAITH! I have faith in myself that I will eventually heal from my trauma.There will…” Oct 1, 17:46
- on Trauma Responses or Just Personality Traits in Scam Victims? – 2024: “Thanks SCARS, especially to Dr. Tim, to recommend me to read this article. It is so awesome that I was…” Oct 1, 13:09
- on Contractualism and Supporting the Victims of Online Crime: “After the scam, I needed contractualism to help me reestablish rules of engagement with others since everything about the scam…” Sep 30, 19:59
Did you find this article useful?
If you did, please help the SCARS Institute to continue helping Scam Victims to become Survivors.
Your gift helps us continue our work and help more scam victims to find the path to recovery!
You can give at donate.AgainstScams.org
Important Information for New Scam Victims
- Please visit www.ScamVictimsSupport.org – a SCARS Website for New Scam Victims & Sextortion Victims
- SCARS Institute now offers a free recovery program at www.SCARSeducation.org
- Please visit www.ScamPsychology.org – to more fully understand the psychological concepts involved in scams and scam victim recovery
If you are looking for local trauma counselors please visit counseling.AgainstScams.org or join SCARS for our counseling/therapy benefit: membership.AgainstScams.org
If you need to speak with someone now, you can dial 988 or find phone numbers for crisis hotlines all around the world here: www.opencounseling.com/suicide-hotlines
Statement About Victim Blaming
Some of our articles discuss various aspects of victims. This is both about better understanding victims (the science of victimology) and their behaviors and psychology. This helps us to educate victims/survivors about why these crimes happened and to not blame themselves, better develop recovery programs, and to help victims avoid scams in the future. At times this may sound like blaming the victim, but it does not blame scam victims, we are simply explaining the hows and whys of the experience victims have.
These articles, about the Psychology of Scams or Victim Psychology – meaning that all humans have psychological or cognitive characteristics in common that can either be exploited or work against us – help us all to understand the unique challenges victims face before, during, and after scams, fraud, or cybercrimes. These sometimes talk about some of the vulnerabilities the scammers exploit. Victims rarely have control of them or are even aware of them, until something like a scam happens and then they can learn how their mind works and how to overcome these mechanisms.
Articles like these help victims and others understand these processes and how to help prevent them from being exploited again or to help them recover more easily by understanding their post-scam behaviors. Learn more about the Psychology of Scams at www.ScamPsychology.org
SCARS Resources:
- Getting Started: ScamVictimsSupport.org
- FREE enrollment in the SCARS Institute training programs for scam victims SCARSeducation.org
- For New Victims of Relationship Scams newvictim.AgainstScams.org
- Subscribe to SCARS Newsletter newsletter.againstscams.org
- Sign up for SCARS professional support & recovery groups, visit support.AgainstScams.org
- Find competent trauma counselors or therapists, visit counseling.AgainstScams.org
- Become a SCARS Member and get free counseling benefits, visit membership.AgainstScams.org
- Report each and every crime, learn how to at reporting.AgainstScams.org
- Learn more about Scams & Scammers at RomanceScamsNOW.com and ScamsNOW.com
- Learn more about the Psychology of Scams and Scam Victims: ScamPsychology.org
- Self-Help Books for Scam Victims are at shop.AgainstScams.org
- Donate to SCARS and help us help others at donate.AgainstScams.org
- Worldwide Crisis Hotlines: International Suicide Hotlines – OpenCounseling : OpenCounseling
- Campaign To End Scam Victim Blaming – 2024 (scamsnow.com)
Psychology Disclaimer:
All articles about psychology and the human brain on this website are for information & education only
The information provided in this and other SCARS articles are intended for educational and self-help purposes only and should not be construed as a substitute for professional therapy or counseling.
Note about Mindfulness: Mindfulness practices have the potential to create psychological distress for some individuals. Please consult a mental health professional or experienced meditation instructor for guidance should you encounter difficulties.
While any self-help techniques outlined herein may be beneficial for scam victims seeking to recover from their experience and move towards recovery, it is important to consult with a qualified mental health professional before initiating any course of action. Each individual’s experience and needs are unique, and what works for one person may not be suitable for another.
Additionally, any approach may not be appropriate for individuals with certain pre-existing mental health conditions or trauma histories. It is advisable to seek guidance from a licensed therapist or counselor who can provide personalized support, guidance, and treatment tailored to your specific needs.
If you are experiencing significant distress or emotional difficulties related to a scam or other traumatic event, please consult your doctor or mental health provider for appropriate care and support.
If you are in crisis, feeling desperate, or in despair please call 988 or your local crisis hotline.
-/ 30 /-
What do you think about this?
Please share your thoughts in a comment below!
I think all of us, scam survivors, had experience motivated reasoning, especially the sunk cost fallacy. I experienced that towards the end of each of the 3 scams, without knowing it was a cognitive bias. In my experience, I think that was the last link to the scam experience, just to try to recover the money spent.