If someone says you suffer from cognitive dissonance, what does that even mean?

  • AdolfSchmitler@lemmy.world
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    3 months ago

    A lot of people have given good answers but I’ll throw in an anecdote.

    Growing up my dad would talk about how important it is to follow laws. Don’t do drugs, don’t drink and drive, etc, but even the smaller ones like don’t jay-walk and never litter.

    On a car ride I noticed he was going like 5 mph over the speed limit and I pointed it out. Something like “if its important to follow every law why are you breaking the speed limit”.

    And he responded something about how it’s not an actual law but a recommended speed or something. But I kept saying it was a law and he was breaking it. He got pretty upset and finally said if I didn’t drop he’d take away my Gameboy for a weekend or something.

    It could’ve been he was just annoyed his kid wouldn’t shut up but it seems like textbook cognitive dissonance that he couldn’t reconcile the two ideas that every law should be followed and it’s ok to break the speed limit a little and it got him upset.