Anthony Bourdain Part 2

We all know that emotion accompanies behavior since man is a thinking, perceiving, sensing, moving and an emotional Homo sapiens. We also know that man is irrational and does not always behave based on his interests. In Leon Festinger’s theory of Cognitive Dissonance, he believed that a discrepancy was an important condition for relevant motivation. Simply put, dissonance gives rise to a tension state, which is unpleasant and motivational. Then the individual will be oriented to reducing or eliminating the dissonance or unpleasant tension. And successful reduction of tension would be rewarding. Dissonance arises in the presence of information, bits of knowledge pertaining to self or others. It can be present or implied. It can be a thought, expectation, attitude, opinion or perception. Importantly, it can be an idea that has a significant emotional meaning pertinent to our perception of ourselves or belief system. That being the case, we’re open to like information and closed or discount ideas of opposition. Let’s take the belief that the earth is 6000 years old or such. In that view, man lived with the dinosaurs, sabretooth tigers, etc. If, that’s the case, we neither want to hear that the earth is 3.8 billion years old and was not formed in seven days, nor that the evolution of Homo sapiens, appeared about 70,000 years ago. We would more likely not read the scientific or biological journals relating to man’s origins, nor would we seek out lectures, movies or documentaries to that effect. If someone attempted to influence us with a different point of view, we would likely become angry. We would call it “fake news.” It would be a threat, dissonance, to our belief system. On the other hand, we would likely visit, a theme entertainment park based on the Old Testament stories with Adam and Eve, mastodons, and other prehistoric animals. That behavior would be consonant with our belief system. And yes, we can be illogical, irrational and employ denial because we are Homo sapiens. A more recent example of how man’s bias resulted in self-defeating behavior was found in a May 27, 2018 article in The New York Times. Briefly, a recent experiment demonstrated just that. Subjects were given a task to identify figures that had different shapes. Then, the participants received feedback as to whether their answers were right or wrong. These participants then observed the answers of four other co-players who were completing the same tasks. The participants were also asked whether they agreed or disagreed with a number of political statements such as “building a wall along the southern border would reduce illegal immigration.” The participants also observed the responses by 4 other co-players. To make the most money, the participants could learn from the co-player who best demonstrated the ability to identify the various shapes, regardless of political view. Unfortunately, the participants chose to agree with those co-players that matched their own views, regardless of their failure rate on the shapes. In essence, the participants lost money because they agreed with the politically like-minded co-players. They could’ve made more money by partnering up with those co-players that excelled at the task. The participants simply trusted like-minded individuals, or simply put, that resulted in an absence of dissonance. Politically, a contrary political view created dissonace to their belief system regardless of an opportunity to earn money. The dissonance resulted in a non-logical and rational decision. The tension or anxiety was stronger and interfered with smart decision-making. More to Follow