Just a note on cognitive dissonance...

Guy Harris introduced me to cognitive dissonance and I knew that I had to buy the book he recommended entitled Mistakes Were Made (but not by me). I read a section on page 19 that reads as follows, "Neuroscientists have recently shown that these [cognitive] biases in thinking are built into the very way the brain processes information - all brains, regardless of their owners' political affiliation. For example, in a study of people who were being monitored by mangetic resonance imagin (MRI) while they were trying to process dissonant or consonant information about George Bush or John Kerry, Drew Westen and his colleagues found that they reasoning areas of the brain virtually shut down when participants were confronted with dissonant information, and the emotion circuits of the brain lit up happily when consonance was restored."

I have heard it several times before... "I start talking to them, and it's like the light goes off." "They understand the words I'm saying, but they have no idea what I'm talking about."

Now it's scientific. We really DO have a difficult time learning anything when what the person is talking about is directly contrary to our own beliefs. I think this is probably why instead of listening to dissonant information during an argument we make attempts to defend our position. To be honest, that is why I interrupt during an argument. I have already made up my mind, and I'm tired of hearing dissonant statements that conflict with my perception of how things "really" are or of myself. When my wife is confronting me about anything, I MUST make the conscious decision to not take the conflict as a personal affront. If I allow myself to take her statements personally, they will naturally be inconsistent with my beliefs about who I am.

We all see ourselves as generally good people, wanting what is best not only for ourselves but also with others. Now my wife is asking why I have not fixed her dresser drawer. My first inclination is to take this as a personal attack. She's calling me lazy, incapable, distracted and useless. This naturally does not match up with my glowing idea of who I am, so I need to correct her malicious behavior. I need to tell her how busy I've been and how hard I work for my family. I need to remind her of all the various jobs I've done around the house in the last decade. Or... I can recognize what is going on in my mind and CHOOSE to respond differently. I'M RESPONSIBLE! (Oh shoot! There's that stinking desk plaque again! That thing HAUNTS me!)

There are obvious implications to the way that I present and teach. The point of teaching is to properly disseminate information in a way that influences the listener to respond appropriately in action or belief. If I begin teaching or presenting in a way that instinctively causes cognitive dissonance in my listeners, it doesn't matter how good my information is. They have literally already "tuned me out".

Final thoughts - this is just one more example of science confirming what should have been known since 26 AD. In John 4:1-26, Jesus Christ explains that He is the Messiah the woman at the well is seeking. He was perfect. She was not. He was righteous. She was living in sin. He had every right to condemn. He chose instead to meet her needs with consonance rather than dissonance. In Acts 17:16-34, Paul delivers a sermon at Mars Hill (Areopagus) in an attempt to bring people from idol worship to worshipping Christ. That will create dissonance, for sure. But instead of focusing on their shortcomings, he encouraged their desire to be religious. Genius.

Any thoughts are welcome!