Mental Process
rationalization Audio
ra·tion·al·i·za·tion
Subclass of:
Defense Mechanisms
Definitions related to rationalization:
  • A defense mechanism operating unconsciously, in which the individual attempts to justify or make consciously tolerable, by plausible means, feelings, behavior, and motives that would otherwise be intolerable.
    NLM Medical Subject Headings
    U.S. National Library of Medicine, 2021
  • An unconscious defense mechanism in which irrational or unacceptable behavior, motives, or feelings are logically justified or made consciously tolerable by plausible means.
    Sadock's Comprehensive Glossary of Psychiatry and Psychology
    BJ Sadock Titles Press, 2012
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