Post #7: Cognitive Dissonance

I really enjoyed this article and found it to be very interesting. It made me think of many times that I have fallen subject to cognitive dissonance, as well as others I know. I found it interesting how some people almost subconsciously fabricate things to excuse their behavior or make themselves look better with out thinking about it, or even so much as considering that what the other person said is true. I guess that it's considered such a social norm to respond that way when things reflect negatively on you, that I never really thought about in any sort of depth. I liked how the author talked about it from two different angles as well. He first talked about cognitive dissonance in terms of responding negatively to something that makes you look foolish and hurts your pride, for example, finding out you have been wasting your time stretching when it is not necessary. Then, the author talked about it in terms of something you are shameful of, like smoking. In both cases you got basically the same reaction, but for two different reasons. The author also talked about the difference between responding rationally and rationalizing. Responding rationally is when you welcome the information, look into the data yourself, and methodically choose to either accept or disregard the information. Rationalizing would of course be making excuses for, or rationalizing, your behavior, which is what most people do. Although most people would read this article and agree that kind of behavior is ridiculous and immature, we are all guilty of cognitive dissonance. This just shows how important our egos are to us Americans. However, I must say that I think men, as a whole, partake in this behavior more frequently than women. I believe that it is safe to say that males have a harder time admitting they are wrong than females do. Therefore, more often than not, men rationalize and women respond rationally :-)