Mind over bias: How is cognitive control related to politically motivated reasoning?

People often favour information aligned with their ideological motives. Can our tendency for directional motivated reasoning be overcome with cognitive control? It remains contested whether cognitive control processes, such as cognitive reflection and inhibitory control, are linked to a greater tendency to engage in politically motivated reasoning, as proposed by the “motivated reflection” hypothesis, or can help people overcome it, as suggested by cognitive science research. In this pre-registered study (N = 504 UK participants rating n = 4963 news messages), we first provide evidence for motivated reasoning on multiple political and non-political topics. We then compare the relative evidence for these two competing hypotheses and find that for political topics, it is 20 times more likely that cognitive reflection is associated with less motivated reasoning – in contrast to the prediction from the influential “motivated reflection” hypothesis. Our results highlight the need for more nuanced theories of how different cognitive control processes interact with motivated reasoning.