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Cognitive Dissonance -- Why it's hard to admit to being wrong
| quote: | We all have a hard time admitting that we're wrong, but according to a new book about human psychology, it's not entirely our fault. Social psychologist Elliot Aronson and co-author Carol Tavris say our brains work hard to make us think we are doing the right thing, even in the face of sometimes overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Title: Mistakes Were Made (But Not By Me): Why We Justify Foolish Beliefs, Bad Decisions, and Hurtful Acts
Leon Festinger's cognitive dissonance theory was introduced in his book When Prophecy Fails, originally published in 1956 and co-authored by Festinger, Henry W. Riecken and Stanley Schachter. The authors engaged in a study of a cult-following created by Mrs. Marian Keech, a housewife who claimed to have communications with extraterrestrials. She predicted a global cataclysm in which the elect who heeded the warning would be rescued by alien spacecraft at a particular site. What Festinger's team demonstrated in the end was that the failure of prophecy often has consequences that are the opposite of what we might expect. The most ardent members of a cult can become even more convinced of the truth of their actions and beliefs!
Leon Festinger noted that:
A man with a conviction is a hard man to change. Tell him you disagree and he turns away. Show him facts or figures and he questions your sources. Appeal to logic and he fails to see your point. We have all experienced the futility of trying to change a strong conviction, especially if the convinced person has some investment in his belief. We are familiar with the variety of ingenious defenses with which people protect their convictions, managing to keep them unscathed through the most devastating attacks. But man's resourcefulness goes beyond simply protecting a belief. Suppose an individual believes something with his whole heart; suppose further that he has a commitment to this belief, that he has taken irrevocable actions because of it; finally, suppose that he is presented with evidence, unequivocal and undeniable evidence, that his belief is wrong: what will happen? The individual will frequently emerge, not only unshaken, but even more convinced of the truth of his beliefs than ever before. Indeed, he may even show a new fervor about convincing and converting other people to his view.
...... But whatever explanation {for failure} is made it is still by itself not sufficient. The dissonance is too important and though they may try to hide it, even from themselves, the believers still know that the prediction was false and all their preparations were in vain. The dissonance cannot be eliminated completely by denying or rationalizing the disconfirmation. But there is a way in which the remaining dissonance can be reduced. If more and more people can be persuaded that the system of belief is correct, then clearly it must, after all, be correct. Consider the extreme case: if everyone in the whole world believed something there would be no question at all as to the validity of this belief. It is for this reason that we observe the increase in proselytizing following disconfirmation. If the proselytizing proves successful, then by gathering more adherents and effectively surrounding himself with supporters, the believer reduces dissonance to the point where he can live with it. |
http://cognews.com/1185551773
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, I'm moving away from this dump though, closer to central/downtown, which would be right between work and school.
