Cognitive Dissonance: What Is It and How Is It Ruining Your Love Life?

When people experience something that questions or invalidates their beliefs, they figure out a way to ignore the new information.  Think of the cigarette smoker who learns of the health risks of smoking.  They can simply respond with “we’re all going to die anyway”.  In the 21st Century, people embrace the slogan of

“it’s my truth” to justify inappropriate behavior.  They do this despite the fact their actions or beliefs are working against them.  This is called cognitive dissonance.  It is a term coined by social psychologist, Leon Festinger in the 1950s. 

Whether it’s cheating on your spouse, a single mother with multiple children from different men or a priest molesting children, they can all justify their behavior.  If you confront them, they will give a perfectly logical reason for why they must continue.  Otherwise, they would have stopped immediately.  For them, it is almost an addiction.  Like most addictions, the first step is to admit what you are doing is not in your best interest. 

What’s most interesting about cognitive dissonance is everyone experiences it at some point.  If you just denied it, you just experienced it.  Some of the signs you experience during cognitive dissonance is you ignore the facts, feel uncomfortable, rationalize, or you may even defend yourself angrily.  With that said, when people claim something does not resonate with them, it may be because they are experiencing cognitive dissonance. 

On today’s show, we are going to take a deep dive into this topic.  We will address its origins, how it affects your intimate relationships and methods for getting out of the cognitive trap.  So you will not want to miss it. 

Tonight, Sunday, October 6, from 7:00pm-8:30pm (EST) at Straight Talk with Ted Santos.

To hear the show live: https://www.blogtalkradio.com/ted_santos/2019/10/06/cognitive-dissonance-what-is-it-and-how-is-it-ruining-your-love-life

Call to comment or ask questions live at: (323) 642-1387.

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