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.
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Shallow thinkers do not think beyond the immediate and the observable. They usually take information at face value and only look at immediate consequences. They are not capable of looking at all sides of an issue or think deeply about the issue before making decisions or drawing conclusions . . .
They also believe that their opinion is based on deep thinking because they genuinely believe that their opinion is based on truth and facts. Whereas, deep thinkers look at the whole sequence of events and the consequences. When we dig deeper, we understand better. We can compare different outcomes, examine, tear apart, and make cognizant judgments that are derived from different mental models.
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Left and Right, I’ve yet to find a single person who digs beyond the depth of their immediate domain of interest. In our entirely transactional times, America endlessly rehashes topics of today — never once considering the totality of events that created them (or even having a notion of the need to). With the issues I address — you might as well be saying the Civil War wasn’t germane to the assassination of Lincoln. As I have an idea that could turn the tide — virtually all conversations on here fit under the umbrella of mine. If you’re not interested in such discovery, let’s not waste each other’s time. Thank you! 🙏
It astounds me that even that courtesy is hard to come by anymore. In a world where timeless truths are “outdated” — a lot of things are hard to come by. What does it say to you that across communities where claims of critical thinking are everywhere — I haven’t found it anywhere? Ann Baker’s article beautifully captures what critical thinking is and is not:
“Indeed, nowadays, we tend to take in and repeat whatever the values and beliefs of those around us have rather than forming our own independent thought and stopping to organize and evaluate the information we are receiving.”
I’ve always hated Twitter and every long-form version of it (including the one I’m on right now). When I’m done doing what I gotta do — I’m never goin’ back (not to X or any other). Until then, I’m sending out a certain set of messages looking for intelligent life (fiercely independent thinkers who want to solve problems — not endlessly talk about them). I’ve got an idea — and it’s got teeth. Going by the galaxies filled with “rock stars” of reasoning across the social media universe — I should have no shortage of people eager to examine my idea and discuss how we could improve on it and proceed.
Explaining America’s decline over decades of delight in the Gutter Games of Government — is apples & oranges as it gets when compared to the transactional nature of news and social-media norms. Understanding how seemingly unrelated events impact one another takes time and effort to digest.
You are being conditioned to do the exact opposite — as all of America has been for decades. We could do something about that, but you’re busy. You’re always busy. Thank you for your time, but please don’t waste mine.
And to make the bar abundantly clear: Anything short of specifically addressing my arguments within one or both of the stories below, and you will not hear from me. And to save us both some time: I won’t read your reply if it doesn’t reflect the digging that separates the serious from the shallow. The first sentence I see that falls outside those lines — will be the last sentence I see.
If you’re turned off by this — that’s the point (to weed you out).
I beat the hell out of both sides, and if you can’t handle some heat — you don’t qualify (so I don’t need ya). Call me whatever you like, I don’t care. For 20 years, I’ve been practically spit on for following principles those same people promote on a daily basis. When it comes to self-satisfied scorn, I’ve heard it all and I’ve seen it all (and made the most of it by making examples out of hermetically sealed minds).
This is the larger story I’m out to tell.
From the Earth to the Moon to “WUT”:
https://onevoicebecametwo.life/2024/04/24/from-the-earth-to-the-moon-to-wut/
And this is conduit through which I’m out to tell it:
The Critical Thinking of Sowell’s Crowd: Where Even Math is a Matter of Opinion: https://onevoicebecametwo.life/2024/05/12/the-critical-thinking-of-sowells-crowd-where-even-math-is-a-matter-of-opinion/
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??!!