Drew Westen Quotes (6 Quotes)

We are re-discovering an old clinical idea. We think that the ways people fall ill psychologically are dependent on personality.

The result is that partisan beliefs are calcified, and the person can learn very little from new data.

None of the circuits involved in conscious reasoning were particularly engaged. Essentially, it appears as if partisans twirl the cognitive kaleidoscope until they get the conclusions they want, and then they get massively reinforced for it, with the elimination of negative emotional states and activation of positive ones.

Everyone from executives and judges to scientists and politicians may reason to emotionally biased judgments when they have a vested interest in how to interpret 'the facts'.

We did not see any increased activation of the parts of the brain normally engaged during reasoning.

It appears as if partisans twirl the cognitive kaleidoscope until they get the conclusions they want, and then get massively reinforced for it.