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Cognitive Dissonance: Difference between revisions
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What is cognitive dissonance | What is cognitive dissonance? Does it affect the followers of William Branham and, if so, what are its effects? | ||
=Definition= | =Definition= | ||
'' | :''A man with a conviction is a hard man to change. Tell him you disagree and he turns away. Show him facts or figures and he questions your sources. Appeal to logic and he fails to see your point. | ||
:''We have all experienced the futility of trying to change a strong conviction, especially if the convinced person has some investment in his belief. We are familiar with the variety of ingenious defenses with which people protect their convictions, managing to keep them unscathed through the most devastating attacks. | |||
:''But man's resourcefulness goes beyond simply protecting a belief. Suppose an individual believes something with his whole heart; suppose further that he has a commitment to this belief and he has taken irrevocable actions because of it; finally, suppose that he is presented with evidence, unequivocal and undeniable evidence, that his belief is wrong: '''what will happen?''' The individual will frequently emerge, not only unshaken, but even more convinced of the truth of his beliefs than ever before. Indeed, he may even show a new fervor for convincing and converting other people to his view."<ref>Festinger, Leon; Henry W. Riecken, Stanley Schachter (1956). ''When Prophecy Fails: A Social and Psychological Study of a Modern Group that Predicted the Destruction of the World.'' University of Minnesota Press. ISBN 1-59147-727-1.</ref> | |||
'''Cognitive dissonance''' is a term used in psychology to describe the feeling of discomfort when one is confronted with facts or information that is in conflict with a firmly held belief. In a '''state of dissonance''', people may sometimes feel "disequilibrium": '''frustration, nausea, dread, guilt, anger, embarrassment, anxiety, etc.'''<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_dissonance Cognitive Dissonance - Wikipedia]</ref> | |||
In the 1950's, Leon Festinger proposed the theory of cognitive dissonance. Festinger observed that when a person held a belief that was later disproved, the individual held the belief more strongly afterward. | |||
Cognitive dissonance theory is simple. An individual holds beliefs or cognitions that do not fit with each other (e.g., I believe that William Branham is a prophet '''and''' some of William Branham's visions failed). Conflicting beliefs give rise to dissonance, a state of anxiety that the individual is motivated to reduce or at least not increase. The mental distress causes changes in the individual’s behavior (e.g. leaving the message) or beliefs (e.g., the evidence of failed visions are fabricated lies) or limits exposure to the negative information (stops reading this website). | |||
The amount of dissonance indicates the importance of the beliefs to the person. Beliefs that are held strongly are capable of arousing more dissonance than are less important beliefs. | |||
Dissonance may be reduced by changing behavior, altering a belief, or adding a new one. When the person makes a decision where the alternate choices each have positive and negative aspects, dissonance may result from the decision.<ref>David G. Benner and Peter C. Hill, eds., Baker Encyclopedia of Psychology & Counseling, Baker Reference Library (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1999), 220.</ref> | |||
Not everyone feels cognitive dissonance to the same degree. People with a higher need for consistency and certainty in their lives will probably feel the effects of cognitive dissonance more than those who have a lesser need for consistency. | |||
=Cause and Effects= | =Cause and Effects= | ||
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#The belief must be sufficiently specific and sufficiently concerned with the real world so that events may unequivocally refute the belief. | #The belief must be sufficiently specific and sufficiently concerned with the real world so that events may unequivocally refute the belief. | ||
#Such undeniable disconfirmatory evidence must occur and must be recognized by the individual holding the belief. | #Such undeniable disconfirmatory evidence must occur and must be recognized by the individual holding the belief. | ||
#The individual believer must have social support. It is unlikely that one isolated believer could withstand the kind of disconfirming evidence that has been specified. If, however, the believer is a member of a group of convinced persons who can support one another, the belief may be maintained and the believers may attempt to proselytize or persuade nonmembers that the belief is correct.<ref> | #The individual believer must have social support. It is unlikely that one isolated believer could withstand the kind of disconfirming evidence that has been specified. If, however, the believer is a member of a group of convinced persons who can support one another, the belief may be maintained and the believers may attempt to proselytize or persuade nonmembers that the belief is correct.<ref>Festinger, Leon; Henry W. Riecken, Stanley Schachter (1956). ''When Prophecy Fails: A Social and Psychological Study of a Modern Group that Predicted the Destruction of the World.'' University of Minnesota Press. ISBN 1-59147-727-1.</ref> | ||
=Examples= | =Examples= | ||
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==UFO Cult== | ==UFO Cult== | ||
Festinger studied a religious group that predicted the world’s end on a particular day. Anticipating the end, which included a daring rescue from outer space, they sold all possessions and waited on a mountaintop. When the predicted end and rescue failed, they held their beliefs more strongly. These findings stimulated Festinger to examine the cognitive and social factors in belief and behavior change.<ref>David G. Benner and Peter C. Hill, eds., Baker Encyclopedia of Psychology & Counseling, Baker Reference Library (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1999), 220.</ref> | |||
In the summer of 1954, Festinger was reading the morning newspaper when he encountered a short article about Dorothy Martin, a housewife in Chicago who was convinced that the apocalypse was coming. Martin had experimented with automatic handwriting and started getting messages from an extra-terrestrial from the planet Clarion a few years before, but now the messages were getting eerily specific. According to the alien, human civilization would be destroyed by a massive flood before dawn on December 21, 1954. | In the summer of 1954, Festinger was reading the morning newspaper when he encountered a short article about Dorothy Martin, a housewife in Chicago who was convinced that the apocalypse was coming. Martin had experimented with automatic handwriting and started getting messages from an extra-terrestrial from the planet Clarion a few years before, but now the messages were getting eerily specific. According to the alien, human civilization would be destroyed by a massive flood before dawn on December 21, 1954. | ||