Cure or curse? The role of deliberation in shaping willful ignorance

Abstract

There is a widespread tendency to avoid, disregard, or dispute belief-inconsistent information. The role of deliberation (i.e., the investment of cognitive effort) in shaping this tendency is a contested topic in psychological science. While some posit that more deliberation reduces biased information processing, others argue that more deliberation increases biased information processing. We suggest that these conflicting lines of reasoning can be reconciled by considering the underlying processing goal that is dominant in a given situation. In the case of dominant accuracy goals, more deliberation should reduce biased information processing. In the case of dominant directional goals, exactly the opposite should be true. We offer methodological pointers for future studies that could test these predictions.