A note on motivated cognition and discriminatory beliefs

Abstract

In this note, we provide evidence that motivated reasoning can be a source of discriminatory beliefs. We employ a representative survey experiment in which we exogenously manipulate the presence of a need for justification of anti-social behavior towards an out-group. We find that survey participants devalue members of an out-group to justify taking away money from that group. Our results speak to a long-standing debate on the causes of racism and discrimination and suggest an important role of motivated cognition.