Cognitive Dissonance: The Theory That Explains Self-deception
It is common to assume that human beings, because we are capable of reasoning, behave in a rational manner ; That is, our actions are based on conclusions we reach through logical ways of thinking.
However, many times, those moments in which we reflect on something are nothing more than a facade, a superficial excuse that we put on top of an irrational decision that we have already made, even if we do not realize it.
The psychologist Leon Festinger proposed the cognitive dissonance theory which explains how people try to maintain the internal consistency of their beliefs and the ideas they have internalized.
In this article we will see what cognitive dissonance is according to Festinger, and its implications for our lives.
The social psychologist Leon Festinger suggested that Individuals have a strong need for their beliefs, attitudes, and behavior to be consistent with each other, avoiding contradictions between these elements. When there is inconsistency between these, the conflict leads to a lack of harmony in the ideas held by the person, something that often generates discomfort.
This theory has been widely studied in the field of psychology and can be defined as the discomfort, tension or anxiety that individuals experience when their beliefs or attitudes conflict with what they do. This displeasure can lead to an attempt to change behavior or to defend their beliefs or attitudes (even going as far as self-deception) to reduce the discomfort they cause.
Festinger was the author of “Theory of Cognitive Dissonance” (1957), a work that revolutionized the field of social psychology, and which has been used in different areas, such as motivation, group dynamics, the study of attitude change and decision making.
The relationship between lying and cognitive dissonance
The relationship between lie and the cognitive dissonance It is one of the topics that has attracted the most attention of researchers. Leon Festinger himself, together with his colleague James Merrill Carlsmith, conducted a study that showed that the minds of those who deceive themselves resolve cognitive dissonance “accepting the lie as a truth”.
Although cognitive dissonance can be resolved in various ways, on many occasions we choose to “cheat” to make it go away. This involves manipulating our own ideas and beliefs to make them fit together in an apparent way, creating the fiction that the appearance of the discomfort of cognitive dissonance had no reason to exist in the first place. However, that makes us vulnerable to encountering again and again the consequences of that hidden contradiction that we have not really resolved.
The two designed an experiment to prove that if we have little extrinsic motivation to justify behavior that goes against our attitudes or beliefs, we tend to change our minds to rationalize our actions.
To do this, they asked some students from Stanford University, divided into three groups, to perform a task that they evaluated as very boring. Subsequently, the subjects were asked to lie, since they had to tell a new group that was going to perform the task, that it had been fun. Group 1 was let go without saying anything to the new group, Group 2 was paid $1 before lying, and Group 3 was paid $20.
A week later, Festinger called the study subjects to ask them what they thought of the task. Groups 1 and 3 responded that the task had been boring, while group 2 responded that they found it fun Why did group members who had received only $1 say the task was fun?
The researchers concluded that people experience dissonance between conflicting cognitions. By receiving only 1 dollar, the students were forced to change their thinking, because they had no other justification (1 dollar was insufficient and produced cognitive dissonance).. Those who had received $20, however, had an external justification for their behavior, and therefore experienced less dissonance This seems to indicate that if there is no external cause that justifies the behavior, it is easier to change beliefs or attitudes.
Increase cognitive dissonance to catch a liar
Another famous study in this line of research was carried out Anastasio Ovejero and concluded that, regarding lying, “It is necessary to understand that subjects generally live in cognitive consonance between their thinking and acting and if for some reason they cannot be congruent, they will try not to talk about the events that generate the dissonance, thus avoiding increasing it and they will seek to rearrange their ideas, values and/or principles in order to be able to justify themselves, thus ensuring that their set of ideas fit together and reduce tension.”.
When cognitive dissonance occurs, in addition to making active attempts to reduce it, the individual usually avoids situations and information that could cause discomfort
An example of using cognitive dissonance to detect a liar
One of the ways to catch a liar is by causing an increase in cognitive dissonance, in order to detect the signs that give them away. For example, an individual named Carlos, who had been unemployed for two years, begins to work as a salesperson for an electrical company. Carlos is an honest person with values, but You have no choice but to take money home at the end of the month
When Carlos goes to visit his clients, he has to sell them a product that he knows will result in a loss of money for the buyer in the long run, so this conflicts with his beliefs and values, causing cognitive dissonance. Carlos will have to justify himself internally and generate new ideas aimed at reducing the discomfort he may feel
The client, for his part, could observe a series of contradictory signals if he puts pressure on Carlos enough to increase the cognitive dissonance, since this situation would have an effect on his gestures, his tone of voice or his statements. In Festinger’s own words, “People feel uncomfortable when we simultaneously hold contradictory beliefs or when our beliefs are not in harmony with what we do.”.
The psychologist, author of the book “Emotions expressed, emotions overcome”adds that due to cognitive dissonance, “Discomfort is generally accompanied by feelings of guilt, anger, frustration or shame”.
The classic example of smokers
A classic example when talking about cognitive dissonance is that of smokers. We all know that smoking can cause cancer, respiratory problems, chronic fatigue, and even death. But, Why do people, knowing all these harmful effects that smoke causes, still smoke?
Knowing that smoking is so harmful to health but continuing to smoke produces a state of dissonance between two cognitions: “I must be healthy” and “Smoking harms my health”. But instead of quitting tobacco or feeling bad because they smoke, Smokers may seek self-justifications such as “What’s the point of living a lot if you can’t enjoy life?”
This example shows that we often reduce cognitive dissonance by distorting the information we receive. If we are smokers, we do not pay as much attention to the evidence about the relationship tobacco-cancer. People do not want to hear things that conflict with their deepest beliefs and desires, even though there is a warning on the tobacco package about the seriousness of the issue.
Another clear example of cognitive dissonance is what happens to a person who has been unfaithful. The majority of individuals affirm that they would not be unfaithful and know that they would not like to suffer it in the flesh, even so, on many occasions, they can become so. When committing the act of infidelity They usually justify themselves by telling themselves that the other member of the couple is to blame (he no longer treats you the same, he spends more time with his friends, etc.), because bearing the weight of having been unfaithful (thinking that infidelity is caused by bad people) can cause a lot of suffering.
In fact, after a while, cognitive dissonance can get worse, and constantly seeing your partner can force you to confess, as you may feel worse each time. The internal struggle can become so desperate that attempts to justify oneself in this situation can cause serious emotional health problems. Cognitive dissonance, in these cases, It can affect different areas of life, such as work, common friendships, etc Confessing may be the only way to free yourself from suffering.
When cognitive dissonance occurs due to infidelity, the subject is motivated to reduce it, as it causes enormous discomfort or anxiety. But when, for various reasons, it is not possible to change the situation (for example by not being able to act on the past), then the individual will try to change his cognitions or the assessment of what he has done. The problem arises because by living with that person (her partner) and seeing him daily, the feeling of guilt can end up “killing you inside”
