Cognitive Dissonance
How we deal with cognitive dissonance says a lot about us and our maturity
The theory developed by American psychologist Leon Festinger, cognitive dissonance is the mental discomfort experienced by a person who has conflicts or contradictions between ideas, values, behavior and/or information at the same time.
An example of this dissonance is if, after deciding to go on a diet, you eat a fried chicken and a container of ice cream. There’s a contradiction between your idea and behavior that will be obvious to you.
Another example is if you have a strong loyalty to a public figure and news comes out that he did something bad and against his professed views.
This conflict between expectations and reality is uncomfortable and the person has a strong ingrained drive to try to reduce the dissonance. Humans psychologically want consistency between their beliefs and reality.
There are countless ways to try to reduce dissonance: healthy and unhealthy, rational and irrational, adaptive and maladaptive, honest and dishonest.
Some will deal reasonably with the conflict, such as accepting that it was a mistake to eat that bad food and vowing to get back on the straight and narrow, or making one’s views about a public figure more realistic. Others will act poorly such as trying to delude themselves that fried chicken and ice cream for breakfast really is good for you, or deny or dishonestly justifying the facts about the public figure. Denying clear facts, lying to oneself and dubious justifications are common maladaptive ways to try to regain cognitive consistency.
We all at times experience cognitive dissonance. How we deal with dissonance says a lot about us and our maturity and is a major part of our personality. We admire people who admit to their mistakes, handle well unexpected setbacks, and can change their viewpoints when given new information. We express frustration with people who stubbornly cling to false notions and who react angrily to anyone who doesn’t agree with them.
The desire to reduce cognitive dissonance explains why we all often automatically deny facts or theories that go against our ideas or beliefs, even when we later accept them.
i've described my experience in my Unitarian church over the past couple of years as "cognitive dissonance". I appreciate this article. I've lowered my expectations; lowered my contributions and created clear boundaries for myself. It's working OK. But a lot of people keep asking WHY? WHY HAVE YOU RESIGNED??!!