'Cognitive Dissonance', one of its effects is, "Doing things because of social pressure or a fear of missing out (FOMO), even if it wasn't something you wanted to do."
AND
"Forced Compliance
"Sometimes you might find yourself engaging in behaviours that are opposed to your own beliefs due to external expectations, often for work, school, or a social situation. This might involve going along with something due to peer pressure or doing something at work to avoid getting fired."
"Coping with the nuances of contradictory ideas or experiences is mentally stressful. It requires energy and effort to sit with those seemingly opposite things that all seem true. Festinger argued that some people would inevitably resolve dissonance by blindly believing whatever they wanted to believe."
"Music is a stimulus that can diminish post-decisional dissonance; in an earlier experiment, Washing Away Post-decisional Dissonance (2010), the researchers indicated that the actions of hand-washing might inhibit the cognitions that induce cognitive dissonance.[25]"
Picture Macbeth's wife compulsively washing her hands, "Out damned spot."
Perhaps you know someone who has a washing hands obsession. Perhaps the person in question is even aware of their obsession and may even frequently state it.
If we add into the mix 'Stockholm Syndrome' it really does start to explain why some people would appear to make the most incredible and unbelievable choices. Perhaps it also explains why they will readily join in with others in the mobbing of people who have done nothing to serve such treatment.
The ensuing feelings of shame and guilt can only be imagined.
When we find ourselves in the unfortunate position of having to live with people who are firmly in the grip of Cognitive Dissonance we can all to easily react to their behaviour, thereby reinforcing the very behaviour that is creating the problem. If we are a primary cause of the dissonance then it is a double whammy... we overreact, "AHAH!" you've just gone and totally convinced the crazed individual that their dissonant reasoning is correct.
Sadly, it may take those in the grip of the disorder, twenty or thirty years before they realise that their life of discomfort is down to misconceptions.
If you are ever unfortunate enough to end up in a position of inferiority or subjugation to someone suffering from Cognitive Dissonance then God help you, because nothing else will. You will be viewed with suspicion, measures will be taken to place you under surveillance, you are a danger to yourself and to society, There is nothing that you can do, no act of kindness you can make, that will dissuade your observer from critically analysing your every move and placing it within the a bracket that reinforces their suspicions and criticisms.
Should you dare to react to the policing of your life and voice your disapproval then you have committed hara-kiri.
Did Lady Macbeth urge her husband to kill because of Cognitive Dissonant Reduction?
Certainly she had to wash her hands, I don't know if she felt that the action alleviated her discomfort, it would be fair to assume that she washed her hands as much, if not more, when she was awake than when she was asleep.
Do such repetitive actions induce a numbness to the mind that allows it to cope with the dissonance created by the action? In several religions acolytes repeat, over and over, the same phrase to cause themselves to enter into an altered state, or a certain thought is fixed upon that facilitates the practitioner being able to alter their consciousness. Does a nondescript repetition, such as hand-washing, or placing all the tins in the cupboard with their labels facing outwards, give a smaller influence that allows the dissonant mind to forget itself, to have a few moments of respite before the nagging doubt again kicks in?
Pontius Pilate "washed his hands" before sentencing Christ to signify that he was not personally taking part in the affair. He was trying to appease his conscience or employ Cognitive Dissonant Reduction before carrying out the action.
Is it only the action of 'hand washing' that provides the brain with the external stimulus that enables it to experience Reduction?
Somehow I don't think that facing the tins in the cupboard would work for Lady Macbeth. "Out damned tin" as she faces them the right way does not have the same ring to is as wringing her hands and "Out damned spot."
Is Cognitive Dissonance a form of conscience?
It would seem that it is, we experience varying degrees of discomfort when we lie, when we steal, when we hurt, when we kill. It is the Reduction part that is of interest, it explains how we can then try to explain away the action as being necessary - I killed in order to save lives.
"The differences between shame and guilt should be discussed. Shame is expressed clearly: flushed face, ears, and neck; averted or sunken head; closed face
or eyes; interrupted communication; avoidance of the witnesses of a transgression."
Shame, if not dealt with, turns into long-term guilt and inevitably that leads to depression.
No comments:
Post a Comment