We need to talk about Cognitive Dissonance

In his excellent book 'Black Box Thinking', Matthew Syed tells the following story:

In 1954, sociologist Leon Festinger managed to infiltrate a cult started by housewife Marian Keech. Keech claimed to be receiving messages from a god-like figure from another planet who informed her that the world would end on 21st December 1954. True believers would be rescued by a spaceship from Keech's garden at midnight before the world was destroyed before Dawn. As the small group including Festinger who was posing as a member gathered in Keech's house the deadline passed. No spaceship and no destruction of earth! In the hours afterwards following initial confusion, their belief began to strengthen. It was obvious that the aliens/gods had seen their faith and had decided to save the world giving everyone a second chance!

The story provides a textbook example of what is known as cognitive dissonance. Cognitive dissonance is the discomfort we feel when our experience reveals inconsistencies between our beliefs and the world around us. In our efforts to iron out the inconsistencies, we may suppress or dismiss certain pieces of evidence. This is particularly the case where we have beliefs or ideas that become important to us; beliefs that become part of our identity. 'When we are confronted with evidence that challenges our deeply held beliefs we are more likely to reframe the evidence than we are to alter our beliefs.' (Syed, p80)

It is easy to see how that might happen in conspiracy type theories particularly where we are going against established opinions. It may be exciting to be part of the in-club that knows the truth about vaccines, aliens or global elites; our adoption of those ideas and being in the club becomes part of our status and identity. So it is hard to shed these ideas, it is far easier to double down and dismiss evidence to the contrary.

Where might this apply to us?

However this is not just something about other people to be amused by or to feel smug about. It is a psychological phenomenon that we are all prone to, however intelligent we are. It is worth considering a few areas of real life where cognitive dissonance may apply.

Firstly, let's consider our workplaces. It may be that we have invested a great deal in a certain idea or piece of technology; it may even be that we have had success doing a certain thing or gained a reputation/promotion that is tied to a certain strategy. It becomes hard if or when evidence is presented that challenges the strategy. When situations change, it is cognitive dissonance that may make us slow to change with it. The Horizon software used by the post office is an interesting case in point. With the benefit of history and our external view, the whole situation seems absurd, yet if you are sitting in that boardroom it is far easier to dismiss evidence against the system and prosecute postmasters given that you have put all your eggs in the Horizon basket.

Cognitive dissonance is also alive and well in Politics. Our political beliefs and values are often a strong part of our identity so we may adopt positions on issues such as immigration, the environment or taxation based on the evidence or assumptions that we have. We then find it difficult to change that view regardless of what new information presents itself. This can be particularly tricky when charismatic personalities are involved; it is not unusual to see supporters of certain politicians doing all sorts of bizarre mental gymnastics to try to defend their hero in the face of overwhelming evidence of error and wrongdoing. The debates around Brexit in the UK 10 years ago and since come to mind, once people decided whether they were 'Leave' or 'Remain' (the language is interesting isn't it? 'Are you leave or remain is an identity question?), their positions tended to solidify regardless of evidence; there has been much cognitive dissonance on both sides.

Finally, there can be a cognitive dissonance in regard to matters of faith and religion. You might think that this should have been covered earlier in the same paragraph as conspiracies and aliens but I respectfully disagree. There is good evidence both for and against many religious ideas. Like politics, faith is a key aspect of our identity. It is interesting that C S Lewis on conversion to Christianity described himself as the most dejected atheist in the country. Could it be that his atheism was a key part of his identity that had come crashing down at that point? Equally, for those of us who have a religious identity, it is important that we are not dismissive of evidence against belief, or evidence for difference in belief and we are able to acknowledge where good points are made by others. Any belief system that refuses to hear opposing ideas is likely to be ultimately brittle and fragile.

What can we do?

So, what can we do about cognitive dissonance? Being aware that it exists is probably a helpful first step. We know that there is a blind spot when we are driving so we turn to check before pulling out. So too when we are making a decision in business or find myself shouting at the news, it is worth pausing and asking ourselves if there is something else that I am missing or have dismissed because my mental jury has already reached its verdict.

A helpful second step is to have the sort of curiosity that is willing to explore the other side, so reading articles or listening to podcasts from intelligent people who take a different view on important issues is helpful. We might occasionally change our mind but even if not, we will hopefully appreciate that the issue is a little more complicated than we first thought and gain some respect for the opposite position.

It is also important to treat ourselves with a little compassion, we all get things wrong occasionally. If we do end up changing our minds or adjusting our beliefs on an issue, that doesn't make us a bad person. A certainty that is blind to other options is ultimately far more dangerous.