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R:ETRO seminar with Nina Strohminger: "Believing what you want to believe even when you know it's wrong"

  • 1.  R:ETRO seminar with Nina Strohminger: "Believing what you want to believe even when you know it's wrong"

    Posted 02-13-2024 04:23
    R:ETRO Seminar Series
    Reputation: Ethics, Trust, and Relationships at Oxford


    Oxford University Centre for Corporate Reputation
    Saïd Business School


    Dear All,

    Please join us online on Tuesday, 20 February, at 4pm GMT, for the last R:ETRO seminar of this term, hosted by the Oxford University Centre for Corporate Reputation.

    Nina Strohminger (The Wharton School) will be giving a paper entitled "Believing what you want to believe even when you know it's wrong."

    Abstract:

    Motivated reasoning is a powerful source of bias, yet surely there are limits on its power. According to prevailing theories, one such limit is that motivated cognition cannot induce people to believe something they are aware is irrational. In this talk, I will argue that this account of motivated reasoning is wrong. Across a series of experiments, I demonstrate that goals (specifically, advocacy goals) can cause people to believe propositions that they themselves do not consider rational. This capacity to endorse subjectively irrational views leads to various harms for the self-deluded, including impeded performance in negotiations and endorsement of conspiracy theories. These results necessitate a revision to the theoretical record, yes-but they also serve as a cautionary warning to managers and other decision-makers, who are susceptible to the biasing forces of advocacy.



    Click here to register.

    I hope to see many of you there!

    All the best,
    Rita



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    Rita Mota
    Assistant Professor
    ESADE Business School
    Barcelona
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