Cognitive dissonance Part 1: Tiger on the periphery

[Pale Blue Dot]

For those of you who have not seen it, the poll that I reference in this post is here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=5494996&mesg_id=5494996




Much of the information in the following posts has been gathered from the two books pictured above. If you find this thread interesting, those books go into much greater detail and are highly recommended. I'll provide a link to the Amazon page for each at the bottom of this post.



In 1957, social psychologist Leon Festinger spent a few months living with a UFO doomsday cult whose leader was preaching that the world would be ending on a specific date in 1957. A hardcore group of about 30 cult members had sold all of their personal possessions and were living in the house with their leader, awaiting the final destruction of the earth. Festinger wanted to find out what happened to those people when, as he correctly predicted, the prophecy did not come to pass.

On the night of the end of the world, midnight passed as it always did and for several hours the cult members wandered around as if in a daze. And then, something strange happened: A feeling of absolute joy and elation filled the crowd. One by one, they all came to the conclusion that their faith and prayers had prevented the disaster. None of them renounced the cult or their leader, in fact they believed in the cult even more strongly than before their prophecy had failed to come true. In another interesting twist, Festinger observed that those cult member who had not sold their possessions and moved into the compound were able to accept their mistakes and move on with their lives. (http://psychclassics.yorku.ca/Festinger/index.htm)

Human beings have evolved over time in such a way that it is difficult for us to admit errors. Our brain is hard-wired to react to dangers on the periphery before we are even conscious of seeing them. One can readily see how this would be advantageous; If a tiger appears in our peripheral vision, would our ancestors have been better off reacting instantly (by fleeing or taking cover) or by waiting for our brains make absolutely certain it was a tiger before we took action? Obviously, for our ancestors, a second or two could have meant the difference between passing his/her genes on or not. There is a fairly obvious implication in this for us today: sometimes, it is NOT a tiger that we see in the periphery. However, often we have acted before we know the truth.

It also was evolutionarily advantageous for our ancestors not to question our own image and opinions. Again, in mere seconds of self-doubt, we could lose our possessions, our mate, or our lives to a rival. It was best for us to be completely sure of ourselves, and to be able to defend ourselves and our beliefs without any dangerous self-doubt.

Of course, our world is very different now than it was thousands of years ago, and what was once an evolutionary advantage has become very troublesome. To extend the metaphor, we can be tricked pretty easily into believing that objects on the periphery are something that they are not. And once we have made our decisions, it is extremely hard for us to admit that we are wrong.

In order to reduce dissonance, we tend to act in ways that are illogical and irrational. And as Festinger's study shows, the more heavily invested we are in a particular belief, the more important it is for us to reduce dissonance.

I'll give you a personal example. I have been on DU for 5 years, and over that time I have learned to hate a particular DUer. In my mind, he is the the exact opposite of me: he is insensitive, callous, and pompous. I have known this individual for years, so I have a lot of time invested in this belief, and, as I see him as my polar opposite, I have my own personal identity wrapped up in it. Whenever this individual posts something, my immediate reaction is to dismiss and criticize what he has said. This reaction happens before my brain even has time to process what he has said. In essence, it doesn't even matter what he says; if it turns out to be a statement I agree with, I'll question his motives or his veracity. Cognitive dissonance keeps me from hearing or accepting anything that this person says.

What are the implications of the study of cognitive dissonance or DU in general, and GDP in particular? Well for one thing, if you have been supporting Hilary Clinton or Barack Obama since the beginning, since there were 8 Democratic candidates in the race, you are extremely unlikely to change your mind now. If your candidate should happen to make a mistake, or be caught in a lie, you will reduce the dissonance this creates anyway that you can: You will say that the other candidate lies too, and his/her lies are worse; You'll characterize the opponent's supporters as irrational, stupid, or downright evil; or you'll do the online equivalent of plugging your ears and whistling loudly.

This is why there are so many posts complaining that the other side are vicious, ignorant, evil Republican trolls. This is why the most hardcore supporters from each side claim that they will not vote for the other candidate in the general election, even though that goes against all logic. Once you have decided that your candidate is the one, and your opponent is evil, you will do all you can to reduce the impact of dissonant information.

The effect of cognitive dissonance is the same whether your candidate is Barack Obama or Hilary Clinton. It would have been the same if your candidate was Joe Biden or even Ralph Nader. However, there is a reason why this primary in particular has become so vicious, so petty, and so divisive. Ironically, this has to do with the fact that the remaining candidates are so similar.

Tomorrow: Part 2, The Pyramid.

http://www.amazon.com/Being-Certain-Believing-Right-Youre/dp/0312359209/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1208270917&sr=1-1
http://www.amazon.com/Mistakes-Were-Made-But-Not/dp/0151010986/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1208270876&sr=8-1

If this topic interests you, I highly recommend the two books listed above.

[TZ]

1. A big K+R

Well done. I hope this is read by many.....:applause: :kick:

[Pale Blue Dot]

2. Thank you. nt

[salvorhardin]

3. Very nice explanation of behavior involving cognitive dissonance

Recommended!

[Warpy]

4. K&R

Of course, part of the problem can be explained here: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=980CE7D6173FF935A35751C0A9669C8B63

It's an old article but just as true now as it was years ago when it was published. There is little cognitive dissonance for these people because there is so little cognition, not that they are capable of enough cognition to realize it.

[lizerdbits]

5. I will have to check out those books

Perhaps GWB needs a free copy? Oh wait, that means he'd have to read it. It probably has big words in it.

[AZCat]

6. I have some time off this month.

I'll add these two to my reading list. Thanks for pointing them out.

[mr blur]

7. Great points! One might even say that,

most political systems depend on cognitive dissonance from the electorate. Why else do people vote against their own best interests? Why do poor people vote for right-wing parties?

[Pale Blue Dot]

12. Tavris and Aronson definitely believe that cognitive dissonance explains both

the Bush administration and their supporters.

[KoKo]

21. It's about the only explanation that would make sense about their last supporters....

That 20 Something percent....who still support the criminal gang...

Nice Post....!

[PVnRT]

8. K&R

:kick:

[NashVegas]

9. When A Belief Is An Investment

Music industry people and critics see this all the time: you get free tickets to shows and have no trouble calling a stinker when you're there. But the fan who pays $80 has an investment in enjoying it. And so they will.

[Anarcho-Socialist]

10. Great post

I look forward to reading the next installment.

[bigbrother05]

11. Subliminal Message

A subliminal message is a signal or message embedded in another medium, designed to pass below the normal limits of perception. These messages are unrecognizable by the conscious mind, but in certain situations can affect the subconscious or deeper mind and later actions or attitudes.

Subliminal techniques have occasionally been used in advertising and propaganda; the purpose, the effectiveness, and the frequency of the application of such techniques is debated.

The term subliminal means "beneath a limen," a sensory threshold.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subliminal_message

K and R

[TZ]

13. kick!

[Bonobo]

14. Excellent, but as they say "You're not paranoid if everyone really is out to get you!"

[MissMarple]

15. Brilliant! A reviewer's comment on "Mistakes were Made (But Not By Me)...

Warren Bennis :
"This book casts a bright and penetrating light on how and why nation-states, organizations, and individuals get into malignant messes. But it also shows how they (NOT us) cluelessly keep repeating these offensive, sometimes criminal acts. Tavris and Aronson don''t let any of us off the hook but they do teach us how to avoid hanging ourselves on that hook again and again. One of the most needed and important books for our time."

[Pale Blue Dot]

16. It's a great book.

It explains a lot.

[Pale Blue Dot]

17. Dissonance reducing kick. nt

[LeftishBrit]

18. Very interesting

And important points.

At least to a foreigner, there seems to be *very* little real ideological difference between Clinton and Obama.

[LeftishBrit]

19. kick

[Pale Blue Dot]

20. Part 2 will be coming later tonight or tomorrow.

For anyone who's interested.

[semillama]

22. A very illuminating post

And very clearly written, too. Really goes far to explain how GDP has turned into such a festering rage hole in the last several months. I'm definitely putting those books on my to-read list.

Great post, kicking and rec'ing.

[regularguy]

23. "Sunk Costs"

When investments have been made, whether they be emotional,financial or whatever, it takes more and more of an effort to see things clearly and rationally. This is how seemingly smart people get involved in stuff as dumb as, for instance, the Nigerian Bank Scam. Once they give them some money or time (you still gottta wonder how this even happens), they're less likely to view future transactions rationally. Economists call it the "Sunk Costs Fallacy". The quote below from your post made me think of it, just in emotional terms rather than financial. Of course it's easy for me to be all above-it-all-smarty-pants since my guys Kucinich then Biden then Edwards are long gone. Go Dems!

==========================================================================================

"Well for one thing, if you have been supporting Hilary Clinton or Barack Obama since the beginning, since there were 8 Democratic candidates in the race, you are extremely unlikely to change your mind now."

[followthemoney]

24. The higher the price paid for the Iraq war...

The more the believers have to believe in it.

How to deconstruct that particular construction of social reality?

[Shakespeare]

25. EXCELLENT post.

:thumbsup:

[northamericancitizen]

26. Kicking for an intelligent post. nt

[enigmatic]

27. Fantastic post

"On Being Certain" is a brilliant book, and a dead-on explanation for what this board has become. Obama and Hillary have very little differences between them; it's laughable that the most zealous on either side are demonizing the other's candidates (and their supporters) since they have virtually the same stands on most issues. And when you see well-respected posters not only diving face first into the boiling pit of sewage that is GD: P but doing 100 laps without coming up for air, then you know it's beyond repair. It's embarrassing.

K&R.

[Political Heretic]

28. This is not new or revolutionary stuff.

I guess I should add, I'm sure this is brilliant revolutionary stuff for some, and hopefully it will be beneficial. But it always irks me a little bit when someone comes into a forum and leaves an impression with me that he or she assumes no one else knows what he/she knows and that therefore he/she is going to "teach" everyone else.

In point of fact, I am well, well familiar with reality of cognitive dissonance. I am also intimately familiar with cognitive distortion and cognitive bias - the latter being incredibly relevant to both this political process and this forum. Cognitive dissonance by the way is an unavoidable experience. We learn through a process of new truths confronting current beliefs. The real issue us how we respond to that crisis. Not everyone who passionately supports a candidate and fervently beliefs he or she is the best choice is going to allow the cognitive dissonance one might feel upon learning and uncomfortable truth to bring out the worst in him or her.

On top of all that, probably the more important subject, as it is in my opinion the bedrock foundation for any talk of cognitive dissonance or cognitive biases is critical thinking skills. Critical Thinking, is not an abstract vacuous phrase that has not quantifiable meaning. Critical Thinking is a professional skill that must be taught. A person is not simply born with critical thinking skill just like a person is not born with calculus skill (even if some people have more of a natural aptitude for mathematics, just like some people are more natural analytical and thus more careful thinkers).

Having taught seminars in critical thinking and understanding cognitive biases for my former job, I've personally found it to be better to simply live out what I know to the best of my ability in my posting in GD:P (no one is perfect, but I dare say I've done pretty well) rather than try to lecture people about it.

[followthemoney]

29. I hate when people like you lecture others about the proper way

to discuss information that may not be known to everyone else.

This is particularly irksome when you make statements that provide no new information whatsoever to the informed participants of the discussion.

So much attitude. So many words and so little said.

[msmcghee]

30. I am gratified to find this thread. Thanks for posting it.

There are some very interesting things going on in psychology and brain science. I wonder if DU would allow a forum on this so we could separate it somewhat from the strong political emotions that we find here? I only hope there are enough DU'ers interested in this to make it useful. I'll keep checking for your posts. Cheers.