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Cognitive Dissonance Theory – What Do You Think?

When reading Audiogon forum posts I am sometimes reminded of the theory of cognitive dissonance developed by social psychologist Leon Festinger back in the 1950s. The theory, which has since become well established as a central tenet of social psychology, deals with cognition (i.e., thoughts, beliefs) and behavior. One proposition implicit in Festinger’s theory is that we don’t always behave based on what we believe; rather, what we believe may be the result of how we have already behaved.

If you are not familiar with the theory of cognitive dissonance, a Google search on “Leon Festinger” and “cognitive dissonance” may prove enlightening. Here are a couple links that do a pretty good job of briefly explaining the theory.

http://www.simplypsychology.org/cognitive-dissonance.html
http://inspiringscience.net/2012/01/27/cognitive-dissonance/

In the second link, I particularly like the example of cognitive dissonance taken from Benjamin Franklin’s autobiography.

So what do you think? Might we, as audiophiles, be at the mercy of cognitive dissonance?
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Showing 1 response by dover

dover
2,173 posts
 
One proposition implicit in Festinger’s theory is that we don’t always behave based on what we believe; rather, what we believe may be the result of how we have already behaved.
This proposition seems to me a chicken or egg scenario.
In my view the most common behavioural explanation behind many posts on this forum are displacement theory, transference and denial.
In laymans terms - Johnny always got told what to do when he was a little boy by his father. Therefore when we give Johnny good advice, we remind him of his father. We become the father and the repressed impulses are redirected toward the poster. Denial and self delusion become the remedy of choice and the basis for an outstanding audio system - 'the best I've heard'.

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