You would think that having a blog named Cognitive Dissonance would result in more posts about Cognitive Dissonance huh? And yet, here we are now. A blog full of boob jokes and references to my awesomeness.
Anyways, this podcast from Points of Inquiry, on Cognitive Dissonance is pretty damn interesting:
In this wide-ranging discussion with D.J. Grothe, Carol Tavris explains “cognitive dissonance,” and how it can lead to self-deception and self-justification. She talks about the ways that reducing dissonance leads to real-world negative effects in the areas of politics, law, criminal justice, and in interpersonal relationships. She also explores what dissonance theory says about confronting those who hold discredited beliefs, what dissonance theory may say about religious and paranormal belief, and the role of the scientific temper in avoiding the pitfalls of cognitive dissonance.
At one point in the conversation, Tavris explains how cognitive dissonance plays a huge role in our Justice system falsely convicting innocent people. The conversation about American society’s culture of shaming those who make mistakes also piqued my interest.
I definitely recommend you check out the podcast for yourself. Maybe if a couple of people listen to the podcast and comment below we can get a good conversation going.
