It largely hinges on Identity Preservation!!
What does that mean?
Our place in the world, our value, self-worth, and tools for meeting our own needs, all hinge upon the way we see ourselves and on how we understand the physics of influence (aka cause & effect).
It’s very energy/time consuming, and destabilizing for us humans to reorganize our worldview. In a dangerous environment (like that in which our ancestors evolved), that type of disruption would risk one’s very survival. Evolution rewarded those who pushed such destabilization (i.e. foreign & emotionally charged ideas) out of conscious awareness….this is the brain process we now call denial or deflection.
Our brains evolved those reactions to preserved homeostasis … aka status-quo of EXISTING presuppositions and assumptions.
When you see the kind of emotional resistance and reactivity described in your question, you can feel certain that the subject matter is closely linked to this person’s identity (sense of self) and worldview.
It’s quite easy to see this phenomena at play in debates over:
- Religion
- Politics
- Neuroscience of free-will
- Criminal Justice
- Sexual Morality
In other words, you don’t see people get defensive when you demonstrate that alligator tastes more like possum than it does chicken. But when you step into any of those life-organizing belief systems I’ve listed above, you can see this motivated-cognition in full view … as evidenced by the strong emotional content.
Dewey Gaedcke’s answer to What are the benefits of seeking therapy?