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In psychology, rationalization is the process of
constructing a logical justification for a decision that was originally arrived at
through a different mental process.
This process can be in a range from fully conscious (e.g. to present an
external defense against ridicule from others) to mostly subconscious (e.g.
to create a block against internal feelings of guilt).
For an example, consider a person who bought a home computer in 1985 primarily motivated by the excitement of playing with a
computer. If the person felt that "having fun" would not be accepted by his peers as sufficient reason for the purchase, he might
have searched for other justifications and end up telling them how much time it was going to save him in doing his taxes.
See also: cognitive dissonance
In economics, rationalization is an attempt to change a
pre-existing ad-hoc workflow into one
that is based on a set of published rules.
This is usually attempted to increase efficiency or flexibility.
Results tend to vary with the enthusiasm of the workers for the changes being made, with the skill in which management applies
the rules to the work being done, and with the degree to which the rules fit the job at all.
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