Self-deception

Resembling though able to be discriminated from ignorance or false belief, and comprising of a motivated unwillingness to discern or judge facts which for some reason or in some way are undesirable or unacceptable to actors. Cases of self-deception are generally decided upon grounds of the availability of correct information and the degree of effort which might reasonably be expected to establish facts, or the failure to raise relevant questions at the risk of exposing unwelcome answers. Self-deception is the act or an instance of deceiving oneself, a misconception which seems favourable to the person holding it and frequently involves the denial or dismissal of the relevance, significance, or importance of contrary evidence and argument – an unconscious psychological distortion of the appreciation of a specific state-of-affairs in order to satisfy one’s own motives.

(see also: wishful thinking, Selective exposure, rationalization)

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