A rationalization is a logical or moral justification for an action or attitude that is provided by a subject whose (unconscious) motives are inaccessible. Two examples are justifying a fear of cancer by referring to other family members who suffered from the disease and justifying one's compulsive washing by offering sanitary concerns. The term was introduced in psychoanalysis by Ernest Jones (1908).

Rationalization is not really a symptom. It is more a way of masking and denying the symptom. Nor is it a compromise formation, since within certain limits it satisfies the drive. Nor is it a defense mechanism, since it is not directed toward any libidinal satisfaction. It is more of a way to keep from recognizing neurotic conflicts. It is the conscious secondary thought process of covering the symptom with a screen.

Rationalization is primarily found in cases of neurosis: "Compulsive acts [that occur] in two successive...