In order to deal with cognitive dissonance, I argue that some skeptics use the same basic methods as religious fundamentalists […who] often perform irrational cognitive contortions to dismiss evidence against their beliefs, such as when creationists try to explain the existence of fossils by saying that “God put them there to test our faith” (or by Satan to tempt us into unbelief). Similarly, if skeptics engage with the evidence for psi or conduct research, they might go to lengths to establish that positive results have not occurred.

– Steve Taylor, Ph.D.
Why Some Scientists Resist the Evidence for Psi, Psychology Today