In an article published by Psychology Today, cognitive dissonance is defined as the “state of discomfort felt when two or more modes of thought contradict each other. The clashing cognitions may include ideas, beliefs, or the knowledge that one has behaved in a certain way.”
That discomfort can range from mild to severe and can even cause suicide. Bence Nanay in the article “The Hidden Cost of Being a Jerk” provides examples of three mechanisms to reduce cognitive dissonance:
- “…exile [whatever is causing the cognitive dissonance] to a faraway corner of your mind.” (Compartmentalization)
- “…convince yourself that you didn’t do anything wrong” (Rationalization)
- “Revise your values…. We all do bad things sometimes. ” (Minimization)
Notice all three involve denying reality and creating an alternate reality that reduces the gap between what one did and one’s personal values. I am a master with all three. I frequently used all three to alter my perception of reality, so I could avoid the pain of cognitive dissonance caused by addiction for decades. Avoiding reality, however, put me in a state of insanity that caused me to act against my own self-interest.
Perhaps because of my own experience avoiding and then facing my cognitive dissonance, I often see that avoidance in others, especially politicians or when discussing politics with others. People will say and do things at odds with their stated morality and be oblivious to the discrepancy so often that I added this page to my Psychology Principles section.
If you want to be an effective political advocate, learn about cognitive dissonance, look at your own avoidance of it, and be aware of others using one or more of the three mechanisms listed above to avoid their “clashing cognitions”.
In the words of Ben Okri, “When you stop inventing reality then you see things as they really are.”