Unconsciously motivated by miserliness, mr. rioja refused to send his son money to buy the books he needs for his college courses. in defending his actions, mr. rioja explained that "parental financial aid prevents teenagers from developing into mature, independent adults." mr. rioja's explanation is an example of

I believe it's an example of rationalization
rationalization refers to a process of defense mechanism that give some sort of justification to our wrongdoing in order to make it seem logical.
Other example of rationalization: A robber that rob a grocery store and telling himself that 'this is the only way, without doing this, my family will die'