• This refers to human reasoning that is influenced by emotional attachment to underlying biased motives.
• People are generally found to process any new information that they come across in light of their prior beliefs.
• They do not change long-held beliefs to which they are emotionally attached even in the face of new information that clearly refutes such beliefs.
• This is because they have already made a huge emotional investment in a belief and changing it would cause them pain.
• Motivated reasoning can cause people to hold onto erroneous views despite the presence of evidence to the contrary.

Source:TH