Skip to main content

Cognitive Dissonance

Tonight I taught my children about cognitive dissonance. I asked them to tell me what they thought it meant. They correctly deduced that "cognitive" had to do with the brain and dissonance had to do with sound. I told them that they were on to something as dissonance in music occurs when chords clash or the playing of non-harmonious notes.With that, I was able to help them understand that cognitive dissonance occurs when your thoughts and actions are not in harmony. Basically, you will experience cognitive dissonance when your behavior and your beliefs do not align.

For example, if you believe that stealing is wrong, when you steal, you will feel wrong. If you believe you should go to church on Sunday, you will feel bad if you find yourself not in church on Sunday. Obviously, no one wants to experience cognitive dissonance as it doesn't feel good. So how do you eliminate cognitive dissonance? It's simple. You either change your belief or your change your behavior so that your beliefs and your behaviors align.

If you don't want to feel bad for stealing and you believe stealing is wrong you have two options:

1) Stop stealing (change in your behavior)
2) Stop believing that stealing is wrong (change in your belief)

What beliefs or behaviors do you need to change in order to eliminate cognitive dissonance and enjoy greater harmony in your life?


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Holy Treason

I don’t know if you’re like me or not, but I was born into the one and only “true” religion of God. I spent my entire life studying and living the principles and teachings of my faith. I knew the doctrine, and I believed it to be true. Until I didn’t. The road to the unraveling of my faith is a rather long one—definitely another article for another day--but suffice it to say, I began studying other religions and realized that all of them contained beautiful truths. I felt as uplifted and inspired while reading their scriptures as I did reading mine. I understood why some referred to religion as a “faith culture” for I was now aware that had I been born and raised in a different religion, I’d have believed that religious tradition to be true. I came to see religions as merely vehicles leading us back to God. Surely God didn’t care whether his children drove jalopies or Jaguars so long as they were moving along the superhighway back to Him. Or could it be her? Or perhaps there wasn’t ju...
2 comments
Read more

Relationships

I've been thinking a bit about relationships. I'm seeing them differently than I've ever seen them before. First, I realize that relationships are created in our minds. What we think about our relationships defines them. If I think my daughter is ungrateful, I will see ingratitude in all her actions. If I tell myself my coworker is annoying, I will find him extremely so.  And so it goes. What we think about others creates how we relate to them. So why not think happy, positive, loving thoughts about the people we relate with? We absolutely have the power to create amazing relationships by changing the way we think about our relations. Second, I've been thinking about the importance of loving the people in our life for who they are, not for what we need them to be. People need freedom to be who they want to be. If you love someone, you don't try to change them. That isn't love. Love is accepting someone for who they are and where they are right now. Love know...
Post a Comment
Read more

His Light Lives On

Page told me during breakfast this morning that President Thomas S. Monson passed away last night. The realization that a great soul had left this mortal life washed over me. I wanted to pay tribute to him today so I decided I would take his framed picture with me to work and set it aside a lighted candle. It would be my way to acknowledge the illuminating affect he has had in my life and the life of so many others, as well as signify that his light lives on. Here's how it looked:   I moved him throughout the day so that I could always see him. I also spent some time reading some of his most beloved quotes. I felt his presence and my love for his great soul increased. Some of the quotes I shared with others throughout the day include: Decisions determine destiny Your future is as bright as your faith   Search inward. Reach outward. Look heavenward Never postpone a prompting We can't direct the wind but we can adjust the sails It's always b...
Post a Comment
Read more