August 10, 2007

Keep Telling Yourself That

to some extent i think i knew about cognitive dissonance, if in concept alone, but this episode of talk of the nation (npr) did an excellent job of explaining it. the show was with the author of the book Mistakes Were Made (But Not by Me) (Why We Justify Foolish Beliefs, Bad Decisions, and Hurtful Acts).

essentially cognitive dissonance is the fancy explanation for self-justification. the why we do it, how it is difficult not to, and so forth. in a someone ironic way, i find it to be somewhat recursive in thought -- cognitive dissonance explains why we self-justify errors. think about that for a second. it wasn't me, it was the cognitive dissonance. not my fault. heh.

i wish the show had lasted longer and the author/researcher interviewed (elliot aronson) is definitely the sort of person i would enjoy having a lengthy dinner conversation with and be able to learn more about this. in particular, more about how to recognize it and healthier ways to reduce dissonance.

some questions that come to mind that i'd love to ask and discuss his answers to are:

  • when one observes cognitive dissonance (CD) in another is it better to point out the contradiction or let it be. from the little i've read, it seems to me that continually pointing it out would only encourage the person to dig deeper.
  • ever seen a case where one instance of CD feeds another and visa-versa?
  • are you concerned that CD will become an excuse itself for bad behavior and do you find that as ironic as i do?
  • how can you really determine when CD is in the mix and when someone genuinely believes something. the example in the program was with the "hoops" required to join and organization -- while CD could account for some or all of those that had continued interest in the group how are you sure that some weren't actually interested and how do you tell the difference? or can you?
  • would like to hear more about CD and how it effects and/or is related to mental illness. unfortunately you didn't get to interact with the caller who had some idea of how CD answered issues with depression.

yeah, i could probably go on for hours and i think far more interesting questions would come from conversation generated by these sort of questions and their responses.

we call have cognitive dissonance issues. i'll be the first to admit that i've self-justified actions consciously and unconsciously. i like having a word/phrase that explains/defines this that isn't so negative sounding. i like knowing that there is some science behind the idea. i like knowing i'm not alone.

Posted by ac at August 10, 2007 01:02 PM