selfdelusion

Self-delusion refers to holding false or unfounded beliefs about oneself or the surrounding world and maintaining them in the face of contrary evidence. The term is used in everyday language and in psychology to describe a spectrum from casual wishful thinking to more persistent, self-deceptive beliefs. In psychological contexts, self-deception denotes processes by which a person convinces themselves of something they would ordinarily disbelieve, with the aim of reducing psychological discomfort or preserving a positive self-image.

Mechanisms include motivated reasoning, denial, rationalization, and selective attention to information. Some models emphasize unconscious processes that influence perception before awareness of the evidence. Cognitive biases such as confirmation bias, optimism bias, overconfidence, and the illusion of control can reinforce self-delusive beliefs and make them harder to correct.

Self-delusion can have both adaptive and maladaptive consequences. It may protect self-esteem or reduce anxiety in the short term, but can impair judgment, hinder progress, or lead to costly decisions over time. In clinical contexts, denial of illness or prognosis can delay treatment, while in everyday life it can contribute to relationship problems or poor risk assessment. The phenomenon is discussed across psychology, philosophy, and psychiatry, and is distinguished from deliberate deception by others and from pathological delusions seen in certain disorders, though lay usage often treats them as related.

Related concepts include self-deception, motivational reasoning, cognitive dissonance, confirmation bias, and optimism bias.