Festinger, Freud and the cognitive dissonance
Our thoughts and feel our actions, this is the common view, which also agrees very well with the well-made life experiences. The American social psychologist Leon Festinger introduced his theory of cognitive dissonance, but precisely this view on its head by showing that very often our actions our thoughts and feelings and not vice versa.
An example
Imagine, you feel without cigarettes not being able to really live well, but listen to again and again from the harmful effects of smoking. And read. And morning cough is unfortunately already become the norm. This is also the reason that you recommend your doctor and pharmacist time and again to finally quit smoking.
smoking and cognitive dissonance reduction (KDR)
Source: http://www.psychologie.uni-oldenburg.de/
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from the contradiction between these diametrically opposed perceptions and thoughts about smoking (cognitions) created an inner conflict, a dissonance (dissonance), which causes unpleasant feelings. In this situation, there are several ways for you:
The best way would of course be to quit smoking, changed so that their own actions and thus the conflict of opposing perceptions and thoughts (cognitive dissonance) to dissolve. But on the other hand are often too cherished habits, such as the digestive Cigarette after a meal in a relaxed atmosphere. So often continued to smoke and tried to alleviate the internal conflict, cognitive dissonance, in various other ways:
The information on the dangers of smoking are either qualified, changed their relevant cognition thus ("It's still not clearly established," "Even Non smoking always get lung cancer." etc.), or banished from your consciousness (repression), or positive, pleasant-sounding thoughts (consonant cognitions) about smoking will be added ("Smoking is good for my nerves ..." "If I stop smoking, will I am too fat. "" My grandfather always smoked and still is 90 years old. "). The thinking and feeling is that the re-smoking, so adapted to the actual action.
cognitive dissonance reduction (KDR)
Leon Festinger (May 8 * 1919 in New York City ; † February 11 1989), an American social psychologist and son of Russian immigrants, developed in the fifties of the 20th Century, his theory of cognitive dissonance . Then comes a cognitive dissonance ("Dissonance") when two or more cognitions (K) of a person contradict each other. Cognitions are internal (emotional) processes of a person such as thoughts, opinions, desires and attitudes, but also (logical) conclusions. The cognitive dissonance (KD) produces an internal stress that causes unpleasant feelings, and therefore on the resolution required (cognitive dissonance reduction KDR).
The cognitive dissonance reduction can be achieved either by the weaker cognitions are changed or replaced, or by adding new consonant ("euphonious") cognitions.
Weak cognitions have few or no relationships with other consonant cognitions, whereas cognitions in a strong stable relationships are consonant. Completed actions are always associated with strong cognition, especially when these actions can not be undone.
Leon Festinger has proved that reduction in cognitive dissonance impressive experiments again and again.
Leon Festinger (1919-1989)
In a classic experiment by Festinger and Carlsmith (1959) had subjects perform repetitive, boring and pointless activity that appears. (Screws into a board and rotate by 90 °, unscrew the screws from the board etc.). The subjects rated their activities obviously very negative. After a long working time, the experiment was (apparently) go over, and the subjects were allowed. Later, however, they were invited as "former" Participants of the experiment the favor to win the "new" participants and to convince them that the experiment was not boring, but very interesting. Some of the former students were given $ 20 for this favor, others only $ 1 and a further part in the control group was not even asked. After her conviction work, which demanded them a lie, the 'former' asked to rate their screw-turning activity once again retroactively. Those who had received only $ 1 estimated that now more positive than before and more positive than those who received $ 20, or the control group included.
Festinger and Carl Smith recognized a cognitive dissonance among the "former", as they should be praising the "new" as an activity of interest, which they themselves had experienced in reality be very boring. The former students who received $ 20 for her lie saw in it a sufficient (financial) justification. Their cognitive dissonance was so balanced.
The "alumni" but who received only $ 1, changed their own views on the first of them viewed as boring screw-turning activity. As they had for their lies against the "new" no adequate (financial) justification remained their cognitive dissonance and then led to the apparent change of attitude. According to Festinger and Carlsmith, many people tend to lie an initially obvious lie after some time for true, without sufficient justification as aware if they are actually urged to! Cognitive dissonance
reduction (KDR) is widespread, and on closer inspection they are found also be it in politics, religion, science and business!
Freud and the displacement
Sigmund Freud (May 6 * 1856 in Freiberg (Moravia) ; † September 23 1939 in London), the founder of psychoanalysis also dealt with internal conflicts and discovered the repression, a process of cognitive dissonance reduction (KDR) amazingly similar. According to Sigmund Freud are unpleasant thoughts, memories and feelings, but also forbidden Repressed and unconscious desires often result. In
behavior and in the dreams of the repressed contents but recognizable, often without this the affected person is even aware of.
Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)
can bring back into consciousness the repressed contents of psychoanalysis with the help of free association. This is the person to be analyzed (analysand) their ideas ( associations) to people, events, things or dream content can run free without having to censor their comments on these, even if they their spontaneous ideas appear to be unpleasant, stupid or unimportant.
The American psychologist Michael C. Anderson and Collin Green (University of Oregon) have the task of repression some time ago to demonstrate experimentally
The subjects were asked to learn pairs of words by heart, which are unrelated to each other, such as "Fish" and "test". Was called a word of the pair, the other should be reminded. Then you should avoid the subjects to think about all of the other word. Later, they were then asked to recall the full name pair again. It was found that conscious repression Works: The words to which should not remember the subjects were actually no more memorable, even when offered money for the right answer. "People can actually push memories from their minds and they forget that," Anderson said. With the aid of imaging techniques, the researchers found that doing the same brain regions are involved, which are activated from the demolition of body movements.
Using an fMRI scans (fMRI = functional magnetic resonance imaging) could also be localized areas that have led to this "announcement to forget": According to the researchers Is this the same regions in the prefrontal cortex, which are also responsible for the demolition exercise. Source: "Suppressing Unwanted Memories by Executive Control" in Nature (vol. 410, p. 366, edition of 15 March 2001)
This reduces the brain activity in the hippocampus, an area of memory for events of crucial.
Anderson compares the capacity to displace the control of bodily movement: If one looks like the corner of my eye, "like a plant falls from a window ledge, trying to catch these thoughts quickly - and at the last minute notice, . That it is a cactus is that one can fall better "- this is similar to the deliberate power of forgetting, which he has investigated experimentally a measure of the strength of forgetting do Anderson and his team have also found:
It is in the strength of the activity of part of the cerebral cortex on the front page (prefrontal cortex) are made when attempting memories will suppress
Jens Christian Heuer
sources. "theory of cognitive dissonance by Leon Festinger, 1978
" Neural Systems Underlying the Suppression of Unwanted Memories "in Science (vol. 303, p. 232, first edition of 9 04)
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