Unsticking the rationality stalemate: Motivated reasoning, reality, and irrationality

Kurdoglu, Rasim Serdar; Lerner, Daniel; Ateş, Nüfer Yasin

doi:10.1016/j.jbvi.2022.e00336

Cited by 6 publications

(11 citation statements)

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“…In this paper, we explicate a useful distinction for the psychological literature on adaptive decision-making as we outline how eristic reasoning is an adaptive alternative to heuristic reasoning under extreme uncertainty ( Kurdoglu et al, 2022 , 2023 ). We argue that heuristic methods are, by definition, intendedly rational, whereas eristic methods are not intendedly rational as they are employed to target hedonic goals with self-serving inferences.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For instance, judges are supposed to argue and make their judgements heuristically as a disinterested party, whereas lawyers are predicted to argue eristically to defend the interests of their clients in a one-sided manner. Because individuals mainly use reasoning for arguing ( Perelman and Olbrechts-Tyteca, 1969 ; Mercier and Sperber, 2011 ; Mercier, 2013 ), the terms’ heuristic vs. eristic’ can be moved into the realm of individual reasoning and decision-making from the realm of argumentation ( Kurdoglu et al, 2022 ; Kurdoglu and Ateş, 2022 ).…”

Section: Eristic Vs Heuristic Reasoningmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Eristic reasoning: Adaptation to extreme uncertainty

Kurdoglu

Ateş²

2023

Front. Psychol.

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Heuristics (shortcut solution rules) can help adaptation to uncertainty by leading to sufficiently accurate decisions with little information. However, heuristics would fail under extreme uncertainty where information is so scarce that any heuristic would be highly misleading for accuracy-seeking. Thus, under very high levels of uncertainty, decision-makers rely on heuristics to no avail. We posit that eristic reasoning (i.e., self-serving inferences for hedonic pursuits), rather than heuristic reasoning, is adaptive when uncertainty is extreme, as eristic reasoning produces instant hedonic gratifications helpful for coping. Eristic reasoning aims at hedonic gains (e.g., relief from the anxiety of uncertainty) that can be pursued by self-serving inferences. As such, eristic reasoning does not require any information about the environment as it instead gets cues introspectively from bodily signals informing what the organism hedonically needs as shaped by individual differences. We explain how decision-makers can benefit from heuristic vs. eristic reasoning under different levels of uncertainty. As a result, by integrating the outputs of formerly published empirical research and our conceptual discussions pertaining to eristic reasoning, we conceptually criticize the fast-and-frugal heuristics approach, which implies that heuristics are the only means of adapting to uncertainty.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Eristic Vs Heuristic Reasoningmentioning

confidence: 99%

Eristic reasoning: Adaptation to extreme uncertainty

Kurdoglu

Ateş²

2023

Front. Psychol.

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“…However, the level of uncertainty that justifies the use of heuristics is limited to moderate uncertainty. Heuristics cannot work effectively under extreme uncertainty (Kurdoglu et al ., 2022). However, studies establishing the adaptiveness of heuristics under certainty (e.g.…”

Section: Adaptative Decision-making Under Extreme Uncertaintymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…, 2019). When the decision-maker is dealing with a novel situation, uncertainties can be subjectively extreme for her, such that she endures a lack of meaningful qualitative information (cues) as well as quantitative information (Kurdoglu et al. , 2022).…”

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“…Gigerenzer (2019, p. 3553) assumes that the animal spirits that Keynes (1936) famously refers to, that is, “ our spontaneous urge to action, optimism and hope, all of which make the wheels go round ”, can be identified through studying the adaptiveness of heuristics. However, Gigerenzer neglects that the pursuit of hedonic urges (through eristics) can better represent animal spirits than heuristics do, as Keynes indeed refers to decisions that are not intendedly rational when he describes the animal spirits (Kurdoglu et al. , 2022).…”

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Decision-making under extreme uncertainty: eristic rather than heuristic

Kurdoglu

Ateş²,

Lerner³

2023

IJEBR

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PurposeThis paper aims to introduce eristic decision-making in entrepreneurship. A decision is eristically made when it utilizes eristics, which are action-triggering short-cuts that draw on hedonic urges (e.g. sensation-seeking). Unlike heuristics, eristic decision-making is not intendedly rational as eristics lead to decision-making without calculating or even considering the consequences of actions. Eristics are adaptive when uncertainty is extreme. Completely novel strategies, nascent venturing, corporate venturing for radical innovation and adapting to shocks (e.g. pandemic) are typically subject to extreme uncertainties.Design/methodology/approachIn light of the relevant debates in entrepreneurship, psychology and decision sciences, the paper builds new conceptual links to establish its theoretical claims through secondary research.FindingsThe paper posits that people adapt to extreme uncertainty by using eristic reasoning rather than heuristic reasoning. Heuristic reasoning allows boundedly rational decision-makers to use qualitative cues to estimate the consequences of actions and to make reasoned decisions. By contrast, eristic reasoning ignores realistic calculations and considerations about the future consequences of actions and produces decisions guided by hedonic urges.Originality/valueCurrent entrepreneurial research on uncertainty usually focuses on moderate levels of uncertainty where heuristics and other intendedly rational decision-making approaches pay off. By contrast, this paper focuses on extreme uncertainty where eristics are adaptive. While not intendedly rational, the adaptiveness of eristic reasoning offers theoretically and psychologically grounded new explanations about action under extreme uncertainty.

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Rational thinking and Little’s Law understanding: an empirical study

Hendijani

2022

Curr Psychol

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Unsticking the rationality stalemate: Motivated reasoning, reality, and irrationality

Cited by 6 publications

References 70 publications

Eristic reasoning: Adaptation to extreme uncertainty

Eristic reasoning: Adaptation to extreme uncertainty

Decision-making under extreme uncertainty: eristic rather than heuristic

Rational thinking and Little’s Law understanding: an empirical study

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