Juluy 26th, 2021
- because it is so important to avoid this behavior and teach our children the same!
I have long thought about the world of manipulating one's thoughts to maintain a wrong belief because it aligns with what the thinker wants or needs. In the field of medicine, I am constantly amazed at the entrenched beliefs of my colleagues when they are faced with solid evidence that the belief that is held tight is likely untrue. This brings me to the theory of Cognitive Dissonance as written by Leon Festinger in 1957:
1) the existence of dissonance, being psychologically uncomfortable, will motivate the person to try to reduce the dissonance and achieve consonance 2) When dissonance is present, in addition to trying to reduce it, the person will actively avoid situations and information that would increase the dissonance. What Dr. Festinger was looking at was the reality that I am seeing play out in medicine.
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Dr. M
