Cognitive dissonance is the inner conflict between our thoughts and beliefs and new information / experiences, especially when the differences between them threatens our self concept. This is an important element of the echo chamber effect as well.
Buck had an income from a family business, so he could live his dream life – as a frontiersman-style marksman hunting and fishing on his own land. He built a practice shooting range, taking extra precautions for safety. Though it was down a hill and across a hay field from the nearest road /neighbor, he researched bullet trajectory and ricochet patterns and built a protective berm behind the target area – dozens of railroad ties covered with dirt.
Yet one day while he and friends were practicing shooting, a man from the farm across the road came barreling down the hill in his pickup truck, yelling out the window. STOP THAT SHOOTIN’ RIGHT NOW! He reported that a bullet had just whizzed by his wife’s head while she was in the field picking some ears of corn for dinner.
That’s how I remember the story. Buck has no memory of this event at all. He was trapped in cognitive dissonance, where his self concept as a totally conscientious, safe and competent marksman was called into question.
The most common response to Cognitive Dissonance is to create a new story. Shortly after the incident, Buck got on his tractor and knocked the berm down, saying the shooting wasn’t good for the cattle, especially the mothers nursing their calves. That was his story to explain why he was demolishing his carefully researched and constructed safe shooting range.
The idea of Cognitive Dissonance (CD) was proposed in 1957 by Leon Festinger, a social psychologist. He infiltrated and studied an echo chamber doomsday cult. Believing they would be saved on the prophesized “last day” on earth, cult members left their current lives, gave away their possessions, and prepared for the arrival of the flying saucer that would rescue them.
When the prophecy failed, and life on earth continued, these true believers reached out to give media interviews with a new story. They proselytized for their cause, declaring they were the ones who had saved the earth. This story saved them the pain of their situation: jobless, homeless, penniless, and without relationships…
Reflect:
Think of other examples when the stories didn’t match the facts.
Signs of CD around self-concept include
* feeling a need to explain / justify our behavior
* feeling embarrassed or ashamed
* feeling guilty
* feeling socially pressured to do something
* hiding beliefs or behaviors
* feeling uncomfortable outside our “echo chambers”
* feeling uncomfortable with different viewpoints and opinions
Reflect:
Think of times you might have experienced CD – the… I can’t believe I did
that / I can’t believe that happened / I can’t believe s/he did that / that can’t
possibly be right… moments.
MRI research shows the the reasoning areas of the brain shut down when confronted with processing CD. An excellent example of this is when the US decided to inter Japanese-Americans for the duration of World War II to prevent sabotage. When General DeWitt was confronted with the total lack of evidence for any sabotage or treason, he responded:
“The very fact that no sabotage has taken place is a disturbing and
confirming indication that such action WILL be taken.”
In addition to a lack of ANY rational reasoning, most leaders go further and justify their bad decisions, foolish beliefs, and hurtful behaviors, especially political leaders. President, George W Bush was wrong about (1) Iraq having weapons of mass destruction, (2) Saddam Hussein being linked to Al Queda, (3) Iraqis dancing joyfully in the streets to receive American soldiers, (4) Iraq
uniting after Husseins removal, (5) the conflict being over quickly, (6) the cost being low. Yet when questioned, he insisted, “I’ve never been more convinced that the decisions I made have been the right decisions.”
When bad decisions are acknowledged, it is most often without responsibility. An interesting signal of this is the language “mistakes were made” – which acknowledges wrongdoing but does not include accountability.
* Henry Kissinger’s response to charges of war crimes: “Mistakes were quite possibly made by the administration in which I served.”
* McDonalds’ response to using flavoring that contained beef byproducts in stores in India: “Mistakes were made in communicating to the (Hindu)public and customers about the ingredients… “
* Cardinal Egan’s (NY) response to failing to deal with child molesters in the Catholic Church: “… mistakes may have been made…”
Leader strategies to deal with CD are:
(1) Become aware of your CD
(2) Identify the challenge to your self-concept / image
(3) Identify the dissonant thoughts, beliefs, feelings that are causing your distress
(4) Identify the coping mechanisms you are using: justifying, rejecting, denying, excusing, minimizing, explaining away, stereotyping, blaming the victim
(5) Take responsibility for the decisions / actions you have made/taken based on them
(6) Find a way to resolve the dissonance constructively
(7) Find a way to live with the dissonance if no resolution is apparent
Leader strategies to deal with another person / team’s CD:
(1) Become aware of the CD
(2) Take a support role to create discovery of the CD
(3) Practice dialog: have a flowing non-critical non-judgmental
discussion about the
a. challenge to the self concept / image
b. dissonant thoughts, beliefs, feelings that are causing the distress
c. coping mechanisms being used justifying, rejecting, denying, excusing, minimizing, explaining away, stereotyping, blaming the victim
(4) Brainstorm ways to resolve the dissonance
(5) Brainstorm ways to live with it If no resolution is apparent
APPLY:
Identify one case of your CD.
Openly discuss it and take responsibility for your decisions / actions.
Practice the steps to deal with it.
When Prophecy Fails, Leo Festinger, University of Minnesota Press, 1956. Mistakes Were Made (But Not by Me), Why We Justify Foolish Beliefs, Bad Decisions, and Hurtful Acts, Carol Tavris and Elliot Aronson, Harcourt, 2007.
