Definition of physiological. 1  1 : of or relating to physiology. 2  2 : characteristic of or appropriate to an organism's healthy or normal functioning the sodium level was physiological. 3  3 : differing in, involving, or affecting physiological factors a physiological strain of bacteria.
Motivated reasoning is confirmation bias taken to the next level. Motivated reasoning leads people to confirm what they already believe, while ignoring contrary data. But it also drives people to develop elaborate rationalizations to justify holding beliefs that logic and evidence have shown to be wrong.
The concept of reason is sometimes referred to as rationality and sometimes as discursive reason, in opposition to intuitive reason. Reason or reasoning is associated with thinking, cognition, and intellect. Reason, like habit or intuition, is one of the ways by which thinking comes from one idea to a related idea. For example, it is the means by which rational beings understand themselves to think about cause and effect, truth and falsehood, and what is good or bad.