February Blog: Cognitive Dissonance

Cognitive dissonance is defined as "the state of having inconsistent thoughts, beliefs, or attitudes, especially as relating to behavior decisions and attitude change." This is a term that I have been aware of for many years and I find that it consistently comes to the forefront of my mind when I find myself to be confused by something I have read or heard. It seems to me to be a very fascinating quality of human thought that we are able to have a sort of mental double standard. In history, double standards have existed to rationalize oppression and persecution, yet it seems very rare that people experience cognitive dissonance, or at least that they recognize it. For some reason, we are able to think two opposing things at once without taking any issue with it.

Recently, this term came to mind when reading A Room of One's Own, when Virginia Woolf wrote about the contradiction that exists between how women are treated in real life and how they are portrayed in male-written literature. This is one of the most provocative thoughts I have ever read, as it exposes a double standard that has existed for thousands of years without causing much if any cognitive dissonance. This concept stayed with me long after I left class. How could those in power have gotten away with such a scheme and what was their reasoning? Why did this inconsistency exist? I'm sure that these would be great questions for a psychologist to answer, as opposed to me. I only wonder how men were able to see women for all of the potential that they have while simultaneously being able to systematically oppress them. Sounds like doublethink to me. 

The really unfortunate thing about double standards and cognitive dissonance is that they both still thrive in today's world. Gender roles are a pretty good example. As a culture, we tend to treat our children differently simply based on their gender. Two children that know nothing of gender or gender roles are indoctrinated by society to behave a certain way based on their gender. We tell children that they can do anything in the world except wear a dress if you're a boy, or play football if you're a girl. Again, this double standard exists, yet many people see no contradiction. How confusing. Maybe it's not. Maybe our brains are just big enough to believe two things at once. Or maybe it's just more convenient for us to ignore the things that make us uncomfortable. Perhaps that explains the existence of great women in male-written literature; maybe it served as an outlet for this cognitive dissonance that men have held for centuries from oppressing the half of the species that they claimed to love so much.

It's a depressing thought any way you slice it. Hopefully, our recognition of the double standards that exist in society will prompt us to look closer at how we run things. Hopefully, we will recognize that cognitive dissonance should shake us from our sleep and not be written off as a headache.