" Cognitive dissonance is an uncomfortable feeling caused by holding two contradictory ideas simultaneously."
Or so says my counsellor, Leon Festinger and wikipedia...
I cannot recall a time I have NOT been cognitively dissonant. However, I've never felt extreme discomfort in having two opinions, just pressure in the fact I'm in a constant state of potential mental change.
Psychologist, Leon Festinger's research showed that, when a person is confronted with challenging new information, most people seek to maintain their current understanding of the world by rejecting, explaining away, or voiding the new information or by persuading themselves that no conflict really exists. I like to think I'm always accumulating new information, to ensure I'm making a sound decision or I am at ease with my opinions... that is, when I can actually come to a decision, hence my current "label".
Dialogue is one of the strongest methods to produce cognitive dissonance... so you can see I'm already screwed? Learning what someone beside you is thinking creates new information and perspective, something I crave all the time. However, as much as I have an intense desire to know other's thoughts, I am also one to learn take those perspectives and then do something completely opposite of what is "expected", a disarming behaviour obviously.
One way to eliminate this "state" is to ignore the dissonant cognitions... kind of like have your cake and eat it too... which I am guilty of to a fault. Apparently, it allows for us to do things we wouldn't normally do and might view as wrong or inappropriate. If I could actually figure out if, rationally, I'm making a right or wrong decision, I believe I would care.
Cognitive dissonance is nonetheless considered an explanation for attitude change and that's what I'm going to stick with... for now.
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