Subject: RE: cognitive schnognitive
From: Jennifer Besiada (jbesiada@nettel.com)
Date: Sun Nov 26 2000 - 12:27:14 GMT
>Jennifer, everywhere I go these days I seem to encounter
>'cognitive dissonance'.
>What the heck is it?
I seem to recall *one of you guys* is a therapist by profession, based on
several past discussions. Perhaps a Counseling Psychologist (if I was to
carefully place the dart somewhere in the middle). So, be it I misspeak,
please, please shake your finger at me and show me the way.
*Cognitive Dissonance* is the condition in which one experiences
anxiety/dissonance when one's actions disagree with one's beliefs. It is
this state of noticed hypocricy that I believe frightens people into
maintaining rigid and protective belief systems (no one wants to be labeled
a *hypocrite*). Or forces them to quickly change them. Although, I believe
most of us would choose to change the action before the belief when given
the choice.
This has always been a very familiar concept to me, and I recall thinking of
it upon reading *Franny and Zooey* for the first time. We see Franny drop
out of theatre and make the comment that she was in performances that she
would be embarrassed of had her brothers seen her. Seymour and Buddy went
to great lengths when choosing the proper literature and philosophy to
expose Franny and Zooey to, and Franny has a fairly good idea of what they
would expect of her. I think *Franny* is showing us her realization that
the life she is leading is not one Seymour, nor Buddy, would be proud of,
and this idea is just too much to bear.
Jennifer
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