WHAT the heck is Cognitive Dissonance and WHY is it Important to Understand?

July 6, 2018 ♦

Michele on

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Cognitive dissonance, the term, can apply in many situations in our lives, from health to global issues.
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How do we come to know something?

Cognition is how we process something; the act of knowing.

Dissonance means inharmonious. “Disagreement or incongruity”. (dictionary.com).
Here is the definition from Webster’s dictionary:
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dissonance
“Definition of DISSONANCE
1a : lack of agreement the dissonance between the truth and what people want to believe; especially : inconsistency between the beliefs one holds or between one’s actions and one’s beliefs — compare COGNITIVE DISSONANCE
b : an instance of such inconsistency or disagreement the mingling of bitter comedy and stark tragedy produces sharp dissonances — F. B. Millett
2: a mingling of sounds that strike the ear harshly : a mingling of discordant sounds; especially, music : a clashing or unresolved musical interval or chord”
Cognitive Dissonance, per Merriam-Webster Dictionary means, “Psychological conflict resulting from incongruous beliefs and attitudes held simultaneously”.

The reason this is so important to understand, today, is that Fake News INCREASES the distance between TRUTH and our values and beliefs.

As a health advocate, I’ve been observing cognitive dissonance for many years. Humans often KNOW that something is unhealthy and they do it anyway. Understanding Cognitive Dissonance allows us to better see the disharmony when we do it ourselves, which we all do. For example:

Eating junk food
Drinking too much alcohol
Drinking too much soda
Smoking
Not exercising
Not drinking water
Many of us KNOW that these behaviors are unhealthy, yet folks do them anyway.

The dissonance (conflict) is reduced with (unhelpful) rationalizing self-talk. For example
“Well soda is better than tequila.”
“Fish pee in water, so I better not drink it.”

It’s like it’s easier for our mind to lie to us, then it is for us to take an action to improve our behavior/action/activity.

What if someone WANTS to change, or CARES to improve?

Well one first step might be to GATHER INFORMATION that supports IMPROVEMENT. This requires the ability to gather some facts.

Another example:
Someone might be concerned about the environment but buy a very smoggy inefficient vehicle. Perhaps they were sold that vehicle with a bunch of marketing lies that made them feel great about their purchase. Without real facts about emissions and efficiency, the vehicle owner may never realize that their purchase conflicts with their environmental values.

Another example:
Someone might love animals but eat meat. The dissonance maybe reduced with the use of the marketing words “humane” or “grass fed” to make folks feel better and diminish the dissonance or conflict. If they care to read the real facts, the information is available and that will eliminate the conflict.
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The reason this is so important to understand, today, is that fake news INCREASES the distance between TRUTH and our values and beliefs. (Yes, I know I said that twice :))

ONE of the BEST WAYS to diminish and eliminate dissonance is to EDUCATE ourselves, which is tougher when information is omitted, removed, hidden, or fake news. Today we may have to dig a little deeper to do good research.

We can all read more about cognitive dissonance so we can better identify it, realize it, and avoid disharmony in our own lives.

I wish you all the kindness, love and harmony (and yes unity) in the world.