[childofprodigy]

Suppose you have this very strong preconceived notion of how the world works that you've relied on for a long time and that in your experience it has been shown to be true over and over again....But then someone or something comes in with an information that contradicts that preconceived notion and therefore causes cognitive dissonance and uncomfortable feeling....this opposing information may be true, but it may also be false

How do you handle the feeling of cognitive dissonance and discomfort as result of this opposing information?

Response A: I completely ignore the opposing information
Response B: I run away from the opposing information and pretend it doesn't exist
Response C: I confront it right away by trying to find evidence that the opposing information is wrong and I was right
Response D: I confront it right away by trying to find evidence that the opposing information is wrong and I was right and only accept it after it manages to escape my scrutiny
Response E: I confront it right away by carefully challenging and questioning my preconceived notions in light of the opposing information
Response F: I confront it right away by trying to find evidence that the opposing information is right and I was wrong
Response G: Of course I was wrong, I accept the opposing information
Response H: I glance at the opposing information and then run away from it
Response I: I glance at the opposing information and then run away from it but I might return to it later (and usually do)
Response J: I glance at the opposing information and then run away from it but I might return to it later (and rarely do)
Response K: I glance at the opposing information and then run away but then I may dwell on it for a while and acknowledge that the possibility that I may be wrong while dwelling
Response L: I glance at the opposing information and then run away but then I may dwell on it for a while while keeping in mind that I'm usually right
Response M: Other

[Tactical Panda]

Analyze it in half a second, comparing it to my ideas and reality and determining the next rational set of questions that need to be asked over the following seconds.

M, because its a happy mix of some of your options, but done at a faster but casual rate. But then again, thats only when I grasp it well. When I don't... its confusing and needs to be made sense of. It needs to be understood before any form of judgement worth your time is made.

M. Overcome being uncomfortable and pursue the truth like a madman.

Besides, once you understand it you can shut if down easily if you need to. Otherwise... you are talking, but nothing of value is being said. And as a happy bonus everyone competent in the vicinity knows it as they watch you lose all credibility. If peace is maintained despite of this it sounds like a situation sustained by politeness, pride and embarassed relationships with all the trappings of failure and futility.

[NoGrayArea01]

E is closest to my usual response.

[Tactical Panda]

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	E is closest to my usual response.

What happens if there are people in the world that are not always entirely truthful?


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Surely they are up for scrutiny, not just you?

[HAL 9000]

L. I'm a bit of an egomaniac sometimes. :P

[DeaconSyre]

M, even with my huge ego I'm not stupid enough to think I know how the world works to any degree of certainty. There are always exceptions and there is always bias; never hold an opinion/thought/belief strong enough to cause dissonance except love.

[DeepThought]

D is probably is closest to my method with a little E and F as well. I'll look at all evidence, both supporting and contradicting, for the opposing position as well as my currently held position. I do not get emotionally bound to facts. They are either true or they aren't and if there isn't sufficient evidence to definitively say something is true or not then I can only file it away as a potential truth for which more information is needed. If something comes along which contradicts something which I held to be true then I analyze it rationally without bias unless it proposes something which I consider to be ridiculous (like the moon is made of cheese).

I've managed to surprise others and even myself by changing my position or at least not vehemently opposing something new if sufficient evidence points to it being true or at least worthy of further investigation/exploration.

[Tocsin]

I've never experienced cognitive dissonance.

I don't form strong beliefs, only mild and conditional ones.

I don't internalize ideas that I assume to be true into my self perception, so I never have to face an incorrect assumption with the perspective that "I was wrong"; it is either "that idea was wrong," or "that idea that I had assumed to be right turns out to be wrong."

I don't invest emotionally in ideas and assumptions, so there is no pain in letting go of the ones that latter are shown to be incorrect.

My confidence is sound enough that I don't ever feel bad about admitting mistakes. My ratio of correct assuptions vs. incorrect is good enough that I don't have to worry about "looking like an idiot if I admit I'm wrong." My experience in life is that it's the people who are too worried about making mistakes or getting things wrong are the ones that freqeuntly fail to self correct, which only compounds the initial error.

[Crazyblue]

I became a vegan after re-evaluating my perspective on animal suffering.

I became an atheist when I could not support conflicting evidence with characteristics of a deity I was led to believe existed.

Response 'E'.

[DeaconSyre]

I actually tried to describe this thread to my INTJ friend the other day and he didn't know what cognitive dissonance was. After explaining it to him he was confused as to how someone could have such a thing.

[jonsi]

E. Definitely

[Alwards]

M (other) I`m more interested in the truth than my ego ... my ego is a construct that I have not that owns me ... so I let the new data sink in and permeate - if it creates a shift then that`s welcome ...
When I say more interested in truth than my ego it isn`t a `truth` in `morality` terms - just a compulsion than is integral to me whether I like it or not ... as it happens I like it

E doesn`t quite match as I don`t see it as a confrontation