Picture this: you’re invited to speak during an upcoming webinar. You’re about to confirm, when you notice the date is on a long-awaited holiday. You reread the invitation, and decide that they already have too many presenters, and you’re not really an expert on the topic. You politely decline.

Motivated reasoning occurs when we search for rational arguments not to determine what is true, or to make the best decision, but to justify the conclusion we intuitively prefer, based on our automatic emotional reaction.