circular reasoning

a type of informal fallacy in which a conclusion is reached that is not materially different from something that was assumed as a premise of the argument. In other words, the argument assumes what it is supposed to prove. Circular reasoning is sometimes difficult to detect because the premise and conclusion are not articulated in precisely the same terms, obscuring the fact that they are really the same proposition.

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Psychology term of the day

May 10th 2024

self-consistency perspective

a variation of cognitive dissonance theory in which cognitive dissonance is considered particularly likely to occur when an inconsistency involves some aspect of the self. This perspective differs from self-affirmation theory in that dissonance can be reduced only by resolving the specific inconsistency that gave rise to the discomfort; it does not allow for the possibility that dissonance can be reduced by affirming some other aspect of the self. [originally proposed by U.S. psychologist Elliot Aronson (1932– )]