Cognitive Dissonance takes place when two consciously held ideas are mutually antagonistic. For example Steven has received his weekly paycheck. He is tempted to get into a poker game, thinking , “I really want to play this weekend. I feel lucky.” Steven was raised by parents who taught him that gambling is sinful. So he also thinks, “It’s a sin to gamble.” Idea 1 is, “I want to gamble.” Ideas 2 is, “Gambling is sinful.” Assuming that both ideas have some weight for Steven, he is in a state of cognitive dissonance.
Let’s say that you are asked: “How are an apple, a grape, and a peach alike?” You probably have conscious images of the items. It takes only a bit of reflection to decide that the right answer is: “They are all kinds of fruit.” You know what an apple and a grape and a peach look like. You know they belong to a larger category. All of this knowing represents cognition. Read the rest of this entry »»
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Tags : cognitive development, cognitive dissonance, information processing, Jean Piaget, perception, rene descartes, Thinking, thought processes, word recognition
