The pandemic of cognitive dissonance

Cognitive dissonance is the clash between beliefs and actions, visible in politics, personal choices, and society.

The Penguine Dictionary of Psychology defines cognitive dissonance (CD) as "an emotional state set up when two simultaneously held attitudes or cognitions are inconsistent or when there is a conflict between belief and overt behaviour." In the kaleidoscope of the mind, where logic and emotion sit side by side, there exists a peculiar discord; the disquieting cacophony fills our cerebral spaces when beliefs collide headlong with stark reality, and truth wrestles with our most cherished assumptions. It's a jarring realisation that what we tell ourselves might not sublimate into what we act. CD doesn't allow actions mutate into deeds.

A smoker knows beyond doubt that his habit invites the slow rot of disease, yet the cigarette remains perched between his fingers. The discord between knowledge and behaviour is a dissonant note that echoes in their mind, and to mitigate the nagging pull of this discord they cook up elaborate stories: "My uncle smoked his whole life and lived to ninety."

In the political realm, cognitive dissonance finds fertile soil, blossoming into the strange flora of hypocrisy and contradiction. Our political parties and their manifestos are the epitome of national cognitive dissonance: the landlordish origin of PPP and its slogan 'roti, kapra aur makan'; Imran Khan's wigwagging between liberalism and fundamentalism; PML-N's towing the establishment and championing the democracy.

The diehard supporters of a demagogue will defy all logic to eulogise his actions they would have decried of committed by an opponent. To confront the inconsistency between their values and loyalty would incur pain and pricking at their conscience level. Consequently, they rationalise, ignore and deflect anything to keep their identity intact. It is easier to contort reality than to admit they might be wrong.

In Cognitive Dissonance Theory (1957), Leon Festinger proposes that human beings strive for internal psychological consistency. He relates an experiment wherein a child has to choose between two toys of equal attractiveness. Initially, the child likes both the toys but he is asked to choose only one. When the die is cast, the child is asked to describe both the toys again. Festinger predicts that the child will always change the first opinion and claim that his chosen toy is better. When a person changes his behaviour or action to restore internal consistency, it's referred to as forced compliance.

In her book, Wilful Subjects, Sara Ahmed writes how this forced compliance comes into play when children hold on to the same moral values as their parents even as adults and forget their own willfullness. For them, existing becomes plagiarism. The collapse of legacy thinking will trigger cognitive dissonance as what was perceived as reality, no longer is.

David Houle in his The 2020s: A Decade of Cognitive Dissonance argues that the third decade of the third millennium will be marked by cognitive dissonance as society grapples with rapid technological, environmental and political changes. In the introduction, he says: "Cognitive Dissonance is a phrase many do not know the definition of, yet most of humanity is now in this state... the unmoored feeling of disorientation."

Teachers also face cognitive dissonance when they are asked to foster critical thinking in environments that sometimes demand conformity, to teach outdated curricula while recognising the rapid evolution of the world, and to be mired into systemic infirmities while downplaying their potential. It all leads to teachers' frustration and burnout.

A totalitarian society spawns cognitive dissonance by default. In George Orwell's novel, 1984, the concept of 'doublethink' reflects the cognitive dissonance the protagonist, Winston Smith, experiences as he tries to reconcile his inner resistance to the Party with the need to conform outwardly.

The groupthink that media spews at us disrupts individuality. The overeating of misinformation and conspiracy theories causes information poisoning, leading to cognitive dissonance. David Houle avers in his clairvoyant tone: "The cognitive dissonance we will feel in the 2020s will be greater than for any other iteration of humanity."