Quote:

Jim Jackson said:
Well, I did wink.

Cognitive dissonance...go for it. I know very little about it. My favorite was History of Psychology. Fascinating bunch of uptight white guys.

Psychic equilibrium? Not even ringing a bell.



Hmm... Could be more in the realm of Social Psychology or Sociology. The theory goes that people have a set of beliefs about reality and the world around them that they learn through family, religion, school etc. So long as the stimuli, or information they recieve is consistent with their preconcieved notions of reality, they remain in Psychic Equalibrium. Maintaning that equlibrium is what is most important in evaluating and judging stimuli.

When information comes in that is inconsistent with their world view it causes them to move into a state of cognitive dissonance. The mind seeks to return to a state of equalibrium. The mind then acts as a perceptual filter, picking and choosing information that is consistent with an individual's preconceived world view and discounts that which is not. Thus, the mind can return to equalibrium.

An example would be the belief that the USA's goals in Iraq are proper and just and our army is disceplined and well behaved. It embodies American core values.
That belief is then challenged by reports and evidence of torcher commited by USA soldier's. The mind says 'it was not the policy. individuals were the only ones responsable, etc. . Thus the mind can retain it's preconception that America is good as is our Army.

That's it in a nutshell.

"Conservatives are not necessarily stupid, but most stupid people are conservatives." John Stuart Mill America is the only country that went from barbarism to decadence without civilization in between. Oscar Wilde He who dies with the most toys is nonetheless dead.