Live data from Hacker News

What Happens to the Brain During Cognitive Dissonance? (2015)

scientificamerican.com

41–50 of 65 posts

Re: What Happens to the Brain During Cognitive Dissonance? (2015)

#43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You never have to decide that something is absolutely true regardless of any new evidence.

If you are only thinking about it, yes. If you want to take a decision based on the thought process, you have to pick a side at one point, knowing that it might not be the right side.

You can make decisions in the face of uncertainty based on an assessment of the risk and the probabilities of the possible outcomes. If you get in your car you put your seatbelt on without knowing whether you're going to need it for that particular ride. There's no need to "pick a side" on the question of whether you're going to have an accident on that ride. Being uncertain about something is almost the opposite of cognitive dissonance, which comes from being quite certain about contradictory propositions.

Re: What Happens to the Brain During Cognitive Dissonance? (2015)

#44

Sadly enough, cognitive dissonance is also one of the coping mechanisms that keeps people captured in a cult. I've been raised in a high control religion/cult. I've been out now for a while, but I was in for 24 years. The cognitive dissonance was very high at times, and I'm not the only one [1]. Looking back at it, I almost can't believe it took soo long to realize consciously what was happening to me. It's a weird t…

Cognitive dissonance is everywhere. It was massive during the slavery period of the USA. Or now, when billions of non-human animals pollute the planet and trillions dying every year. Cognitive dissonance makes life bearable. If I were to know that the flesh I'm eating is dog flesh, I'd probably puke. Or if my mind always had burden of how much I contribute to the environmental destruction with my life choices, I'd pr…

Or you could not eat meat.

What part do you think cognitive dissonance plays in the fact that you conclude that without it, you could not "live a life worth living"?

Re: What Happens to the Brain During Cognitive Dissonance? (2015)

#45

Sadly enough, cognitive dissonance is also one of the coping mechanisms that keeps people captured in a cult. I've been raised in a high control religion/cult. I've been out now for a while, but I was in for 24 years. The cognitive dissonance was very high at times, and I'm not the only one [1]. Looking back at it, I almost can't believe it took soo long to realize consciously what was happening to me. It's a weird t…

Re [2], well, shit. It was a while since I was in touch with what's going on there. I didn't see that level of playing on emotions coming. I guess I'll have to ask my family what's going on there...

Re: What Happens to the Brain During Cognitive Dissonance? (2015)

#46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Cognitive dissonance is everywhere. It was massive during the slavery period of the USA. Or now, when billions of non-human animals pollute the planet and trillions dying every year. Cognitive dissonance makes life bearable. If I were to know that the flesh I'm eating is dog flesh, I'd probably puke. Or if my mind always had burden of how much I contribute to the environmental destruction with my life choices, I'd pr…

Or you could not eat meat. What part do you think cognitive dissonance plays in the fact that you conclude that without it, you could not "live a life worth living"?

Well, an argument of taste comes into mind. If my life is based on daily enjoyment in my meals then giving up flesh is lowering my happiness.

The enjoyment, the participation in a carnivorous human culture is integral to my existence. Food being a major part of it. Dogs in China, chickens in the rest of the world, calves, lambs and other babies. Factory farming makes their life miserable (or maybe the fact that dog flesh is "magically better" if you torture it before harvest, absolutely disgusting practice) and if I am aware of that I might not enjoy it anymore. Therefore I participate in cognitive dissonance, provide arguments which make no sense but soothe my conflicted mind.

Organic farming, humane slaughter, cage free, all lovely cognitive dissonance. It's always there. When slavery was actual, we tried to give them better rights, just like we do for animals - instead of abolishing the practices that make our minds conflicted.

Of course I can live without meat, dairy and eggs - I've been doing that for more than 20 years.

Just love speaking from the other perspective. :D

Re: What Happens to the Brain During Cognitive Dissonance? (2015)

#47
This is very interesting research. In my opinion, consistency is very important in politics because, while consistency doesn't guarantee correctness, it does place some bounds on what can be true. Often smart people go to extremes in politics because they are able to see more clearly the inconsistencies in the mainstream political parties or ideologies. But being extreme usually just means being consistently wrong, which is not very helpful either.

Re: What Happens to the Brain During Cognitive Dissonance? (2015)

#48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or you could not eat meat. What part do you think cognitive dissonance plays in the fact that you conclude that without it, you could not "live a life worth living"?

Well, an argument of taste comes into mind. If my life is based on daily enjoyment in my meals then giving up flesh is lowering my happiness. The enjoyment, the participation in a carnivorous human culture is integral to my existence. Food being a major part of it. Dogs in China, chickens in the rest of the world, calves, lambs and other babies. Factory farming makes their life miserable (or maybe the fact that dog f…

So animal slavery is the same as human slavery?

Should animals automatically be assigned the same rights as humans?

Re: What Happens to the Brain During Cognitive Dissonance? (2015)

#49
post #34
post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The ability to deal with uncertainty is not the same as cognitive dissonance. There is no cognitive dissonance involved in accepting that mutually contradictory propositions P and Q could be true, you just don't know yet which is. Cognitive dissonance is when you believe that both P and Q are true at the same time. Humans have a tendency to jump to conclusions because they don't like not knowing something, and any an…

Everyone must jump to a conclusion at some point -- you can't possibly collect all the evidence in the world. I think it is also a case of cognitive dissonance in believing that you can believe otherwise.

You can pick a conclusion without acting like it's certain.

"I decided X but these pieces of evidence induce doubt" is not cognitive dissonance. It's capacity for uncertainty.

Re: What Happens to the Brain During Cognitive Dissonance? (2015)

#50
the cost to pay at the end of the road is exorbitant. with this in mind, would anyone like to commit to a culture of holding fast to 'wrong and strong'? show me where i am wrong and may you be rewarded. people compete to build the best tools. fix the solution before the solution fixes you. prepare the answer before you are prepared by the answer. the task is great. you may describe the problem in any language you wish, veneered depravity is worse than dealing with what it is.
Post reply on HN