Motivational pessimism and motivated cognition

Synthese 203 (4):1-18 (2024)
  Copy   BIBTEX

Abstract

I introduce and discuss an underappreciated form of motivated cognition: motivational pessimism, which involves the biasing of beliefs for the sake of self-motivation. I illustrate how motivational pessimism avoids explanatory issues that plague other (putative) forms of motivated cognition and discuss distinctions within the category, related to awareness, aetiology, and proximal goals.

Categories

Keywords

Reprint years

DOI

10.1007/s11229-024-04546-7

Other Versions

No versions found

Links

PhilArchive

External links

Setup an account with your affiliations in order to access resources via your University's proxy server

Through your library

My notes

Similar books and articles

Internalism and Pessimism.Casey Doyle - 2019 - Journal of Moral Philosophy 16 (2):189-209.
The nature of inclination.Tamar Schapiro - 2009 - Ethics 119 (2):229–256.
Future Tests of Motivated Distance Perception From Multiple Perspectives.Emily Balcetis - 2016 - Emotion Review 8 (2):133-135.
Self-deception as pseudo-rational regulation of belief.Christoph Michel & Albert Newen - 2010 - Consciousness and Cognition 19 (3):731-744.
Clearing conceptual space for cognitivist motivational internalism.Danielle Bromwich - 2010 - Philosophical Studies 148 (3):343 - 367.
The Development of intentional action: cognitive, motivational, and interactive processes.Merry Bullock (ed.) - 1991 - New York: Karger.
What's in a goal? The role of motivational relevance in cognition and action.Baruch Eitam & E. Tory Higgins - 2014 - Behavioral and Brain Sciences 37 (2):141-142.
Feelings and their motivational implications.Gerd Bohner - 1996 - In Peter M. Gollwitzer & John A. Bargh (eds.), The Psychology of Action: Linking Cognition and Motivation to Behavior. Guilford. pp. 119.
Adult age differences in remembering gain- and loss-related intentions.Sebastian S. Horn & Alexandra M. Freund - 2021 - Cognition and Emotion 35 (8):1652-1669.
Defining motivation and cognition in animals.David McFarland - 1991 - International Studies in the Philosophy of Science 5 (2):153 – 170.

Analytics

Added to PP
2024-02-23

Downloads
410 (#68,584)

6 months
193 (#16,065)

Historical graph of downloads
How can I increase my downloads?

Author's Profile

Stephen Gadsby
University of Antwerp

Citations of this work

No citations found.

Add more citations

References found in this work

Self-Deception Unmasked.Alfred R. Mele - 2001 - Princeton University Press.
What Is the Function of Confirmation Bias?Uwe Peters - 2022 - Erkenntnis 87 (3):1351-1376.

View all 28 references / Add more references