When I hear anything about balloon boy I roll my eyes. Not only is it bizarre but it happened right here in Colorado. A six-year old who was thought to have been floating alone in the family’s homemade balloon equates to a lying hoax and publicity stunt. It’s not like we have other things to be worrying about in this world!

Why the bizarre hoax?

Cognitive dissonance.

The theory of cognitive dissonance is when our beliefs are changed and our actions are realigned. This has been known in psychology for years; people change their attitude to reduce the psychological pain of cognitive dissonance. Humans have a “motivational drive to reduce dissonance by changing their attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors, or by justifying or rationalizing their attitudes, beliefs and behaviors.”

An example can be seen in the classic Aesop fable, The Fox and the Grapes. A fox sees some high-hanging grapes and wishes to eat them. However, unable to think of a way to reach them, he surmises that the grapes are probably not worth eating anyway (that they are not yet ripe or that they are too sour). In the story, the dissonance of the desire for something unattainable (the desire versus the unfulfillment) is reduced by sentience – by irrationally deciding that which is desired must be flawed.

Hypocrisy

An article in Newsweek talks about how the brain “has been a black hole…the brain regions involved in resolving cognitive dissonance are so nimble, enabling us to find rationalizations like that of the Hummer-driving green, it’s a wonder anyone can stick to his principles.”

Actions cannot be undone. The next rational option conflicting with beliefs – which produces cognitive dissonance – is to actually alter the belief. Sounds like an ex-boyfriend of mine.

The Science of Cognitive Dissonance

A study from UC Davis done by neuroscientists on cognitive dissonance led by Cameron Carter used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to study the brains of volunteers who were made to experience the psychological pain of clashing beliefs and actions.

The volunteers spent 45 minutes doing a boring task inside the small fMRI tube, then answered written questions indicating how they felt about the experience (which they did not enjoy). To induce cognitive dissonance, the subjects were then asked to answer the questions again, and to say this time that they enjoyed being in the scanner. Some of them were told their answers were being read by a nervous patient who needed reassurance. The other participants were told that they would get $1 each time they answered the questions as though they were enjoying the scanner, but they were not given the worried-patient cover story.

The study found that two distinct areas (anterior cingulate cortex and anterior insula) of the brain showed activity in the mislead subjects that did not become active in the study controls. Both parts of the brain have previously been shown to be active during various kinds of psychological conflicts, and in this case they were engaged by the conflict between the stated beliefs and the participants’ true feelings. The more these areas were activated by the conflict between real and stated attitudes, the more the person later changed their attitude outside of the scanner and experienced it as more pleasant.

The result show “how and why people change their attitudes,” said co-author Vincent van Veen, who is now at UC Berkeley. “It shows that the phenomenon of cognitive dissonance is real and is not just a figment of the imagination of social psychologists.” Granted, this is one study, but it still portrays results that shouldn’t be ignored.

We rationalize everyday. Whether it’s still smoking regardless of lung cancer or driving the short distance to work instead of biking or walking even with the looming climate problems, a distinct area in the middle of the frontal lobes of your brain allows you to adjust your attitudes to justify your behavior.

Is Bad Behavior Justified?

I always say I have low tolerance for ignorance. It’s like a splinter under my fingernail; uncomfortable and I want to get rid of it immediately. Can I see cognitive dissonance as ignorance? It’s part of our brain and decision making skills. Is it an excuse for bad behavior? I see it as the greater the cognitive dissonance someone feels, the more likely they are to change their beliefs to match their actions.

You tell me. Is bad behavior being justified?