Solution Aversion Causes Denial of the Problem

Solution aversion is a specific and powerful form of Motivated Reasoning. It occurs when people deny the existence of a problem not because they disagree with the evidence for the problem itself, but because they have a strong aversion to the proposed solutions.

If the most commonly discussed solutions to a problem conflict with a person's core values, ideology, or self-interest, they are more likely to use motivated reasoning to deny that the problem is real in the first place.

This dynamic is common in politically charged debates:

• Climate Change: Individuals who are ideologically opposed to government regulation and economic restrictions (the common solutions) are more likely to deny the scientific consensus on climate change. If the proposed solutions were based on free-market principles, their denial of the problem would likely decrease.
• Gun Violence: Individuals who are ideologically opposed to stricter gun control laws (the common solution) are more likely to downplay the severity of gun violence or, in extreme cases, deny that events like school shootings even happened.

This reveals a crucial insight for persuasion and debate: arguments about the facts of a problem will often fail if the underlying resistance is actually an aversion to the solution. To make progress, it is often necessary to first address the solution aversion by proposing alternative solutions that are less threatening to the other person's worldview.

Tags: #psychology #cognition #motivated-reasoning #solution-aversion #politics #belief #persuasion