The evidence for biased perceptions and judgments in humans coupled with evidence for ecological rationality in nonhuman animals suggest that the claim that humans are the rational animal may be overstated. We instead propose that discussions of human psychology may benefit from viewing ourselves not so much as rational animals but rather as the rationalizing animal. The current article provides evidence that rationalization is unique to humans and argues that rationalization processes (e.g., cognitive dissonance reduction, post hoc justification of choices, confabulation of reasons for moral positions) are aimed at creating the fictions we prefer to believe and maintaining the impression that we are psychologically coherent and rational. Coherence appears to be prioritized at the expense of veridicality, suggesting that distorted perceptions and appraisals can be adaptive for humans-under certain circumstances, we are better off understanding ourselves and reality not so accurately. Rationalization also underlies the various shared beliefs, religions, norms, and ideologies that have enabled humans to organize and coordinate their actions on a grand scale, for better or worse. We conclude with a discussion of the implications of this unique human psychological trait. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

中文翻译：

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与其说是理性，不如说是合理化：人类进化为寻求连贯性、创作小说的动物。

人类有偏见的认知和判断的证据，加上非人类动物生态理性的证据，表明人类是理性动物的说法可能被夸大了。相反，我们提出，人类心理学的讨论可能会受益于将我们自己视为理性动物而不是理性动物。当前文章提供证据证明合理化是人类独有的，并认为合理化过程（例如，认知失调减少、选择的事后证明、道德立场理由的虚构）旨在创造我们更愿意相信的虚构并保持印象我们在心理上是一致和理性的。连贯性似乎以牺牲真实性为代价，暗示扭曲的认知和评价可以适应人类——在某些情况下，我们最好不要那么准确地了解自己和现实。合理化也是各种共同信仰、宗教、规范和意识形态的基础，这些信念、宗教、规范和意识形态使人类能够大规模地组织和协调他们的行动，无论好坏。我们最后讨论了这种独特的人类心理特征的影响。（PsycInfo 数据库记录 (c) 2020 APA，保留所有权利）。无论好坏。我们最后讨论了这种独特的人类心理特征的影响。（PsycInfo 数据库记录 (c) 2020 APA，保留所有权利）。无论好坏。我们最后讨论了这种独特的人类心理特征的影响。（PsycInfo 数据库记录 (c) 2020 APA，保留所有权利）。