 "Exploratory thought" neutrally considers multiple points of view and tries to anticipate all possible objections to a particular position, while "confirmatory thought" seeks to justify a specific point of view.Lerner and Tetlock say that when people expect to justify their position to others whose views they already know, they will tend to adopt a similar position to those people, and then use confirmatory thought to bolster their own credibility.However, if the external parties are overly aggressive or critical, people will disengage from thought altogether, and simply assert their personal opinions without justification.