Cognitive Dissonance

An adventure trip leader has been educated in the Experiential Learning Cycle, but finds that in the field it is too challenging to implement, so she chooses not to debrief. "It's fine," she thinks, "they'll be alright without it."

A student fervently believes in the human connection to global warming through greenhouse gas emissions, but drives a Toyota Tacoma with a heavy topper everywhere he goes. "I've got NOLS stickers on it! That makes it okay!" He thinks.

Cognitive dissonance comes from an uncomfortable tension when an individual is holding two differing or opposing thoughts at the same time. The human mind has an amazing ability to do this, and it can lead to very confusing behaviors. Dissonance has been compared to the feeling of hunger. We don't like feeling hungry (just as we don't like dissonance), so we do what we can to solve it. Usually, this means forgetting about the difference between the two ideas and pretending nothing is wrong. We can also feel better by adding support to our dissonant actions. The Toyota driver above might consider the global impact of his truck, but justifies it by saying, "At least it's not a Tundra," or, "I need this for my work and have no choice." Justification feels better than facing our inconsistencies.

So how do we fight cognitive dissonance? The best way is something also discussed on my blog - Critical Analysis. We have to be open to changing our minds, rejecting justifications, and realizing what is true and valuable in our lives. Most of us will continue to have cognitive dissonance about one thing or another, but making our lives more consistent helps relieve that ever-present feeling of "hunger."