Lecture Series March 2017: Richard K. Herrmann › view all

Richard K. Herrmann, Professor at the Ohio State University, on "How Attachments to the Nation Shape Beliefs About the World: A Theory of Motivated Reasoning"

March 09, 2017 - 10:00h
Jacobs University, South Hall, Seminar Room East
Campus Ring 1
28759 Bremen
Series: Social Sciences Lecture Series
Event type: public

Richard K. Herrmann, Professor at the Ohio State University, gives a talk on "How Attachments to the Nation Shape Beliefs About the World: A Theory of Motivated Reasoning" in the BIGSSS Lecture Series on March 9, 2017.

Richard K. Herrmann's talk takes place at South Hall, Seminar Room East, Jacobs University.

Abstract:

If competing beliefs about political events in the world stem largely from information asymmetries, then more information and knowledge should reduce the gap in competing perceptions. Empirical studies of decision making, however, often find just the reverse: as knowledge and the stakes in play go up, the beliefs about what is happening polarize rather than converge. The theory proposed here attributes this to motivated reasoning. Emotions inside the observer shape beliefs along with information coming from the outside world. A series of experiments embedded in a national survey of Americans finds that a primary driver of the beliefs someone forms about globalization, other countries, and the politics in the Middle East is how strongly they attach their social identity to the United States. Attachment produces more intense positive and negative emotions that in turn shape the interpretation of unfolding events and lead norms to be applied in an inconsistent fashion. People, in effect, rewrite reality around their favored course of action, marrying the logic of appropriateness to their own preferences. Beliefs, consequently, are not independent of preferences but related to them. Motivated reasoning, while not consistent with rational models, is predictable and can lead to expensive mistakes and double standards that undermine liberal internationalism.

About the BIGSSS Lecture Series:

Each semester the Graduate School invites a mix of established and young scholars to present their work to the students and the faculty of the School as well as to the wider interested public. Taking place every other week, the Lecture Series is the central meeting point for the entire Graduate School and provides an excellent opportunity for engaging in intensive, interdisciplinary, scholarly debate.