Not all motivated rejection of science is unconscious: Reply to Tryon (2018)

Abstract

Tryon (2018) states that our proposed attitude roots are "effectively and functionally unconscious" (p. 685) and proposes connectionist neural network models as a mechanism for explaining these unconscious processes. In our response, we disagree with the presumption that our attitude roots necessarily operate at an unconscious level. Although some attitude roots may exert their influence through an unconscious process, others exert their influence as a result of explicit and mindful reasoning, and others still operate at a "preconscious" level: outside conscious awareness but accessible if required. Finally, we clarify that we did not claim in our article to have developed a theory or a metatheory. Rather, we drew on numerous established theories to make the case for the role of attitude roots and did so using a transtheoretical language that we hope can be useful in terms of integrating insights and developing concrete persuasion strategies. (PsycINFO Database Record