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Most people like to think that they are completely congruent, consistent in word and deed, with all their beliefs in perfect alignment. Unfortunately, that is not the case. Most of us have a number of competing—or conflicting—beliefs. Conscious awareness of conflicting beliefs causes what social psychologist Leon Festinger called cognitive dissonance. When individuals become aware of the dissonance, they can change beliefs to eliminate the dissonance. It is more likely, however, that they will find a way to justify it, rationalize it, deny it, or blame it on someone or something else.
A person might, for example, believe, “I am an honest person.” When given too much change following a purchase, for example, he or she might keep the extra money while saying, “The store charges too much for stuff anyway”; “I deserve a little extra from time to time”; “I’ve probably overpaid them in the past”; “It’s not worth the drive back;” and so on. The person continues to believe that he or she is honest, even though in this particular case, the actions don’t correspond with the belief.
One of the reasons this happens is that much of what is believed (by you, me, and everyone) is below the level of conscious awareness. Life presents us with a wide variety of external contingencies, not all of which can be met at the same time. A long time ago, a group called The Lovin’ Spoonful asked the musical question, “Did you ever have to finally decide.” Their challenge was liking one girl and then getting distracted by her older sister. It happens. We can be attracted to two people or things for very different reasons. Amusement parks—and especially roller coasters—are popular because they allow us to feel both safe and excited at the same time. We can feel as though we are falling out of control even while we are safely strapped in.
In some cases, our beliefs are more-or-less directly connected with reality. If you’ve ever had your hand caught in a closing door, for example, you probably believe that having a door close on your hand is painful. You’ve had direct experience with both the pleasures and pains of having a body being influenced by external objects and events. If you get caught in the rain without an umbrella, you get wet. In other cases, beliefs are not so firmly based on experiential evidence. Some people believe that dogs are friendly. Others are phobic of dogs.
One of the reasons for interpersonal and social conflict results from the way different people assign different values to different beliefs. Some favor excitement over safety, while others favor safety. It is not such a big deal when it is a matter of personal choice. If I prefer going to bed early and getting up early, while someone else prefers staying up late and sleeping late, it’s perfectly OK (at least with me). In many cases, however, it is not just a matter of personal choice. In other cases, society as a whole needs to decide what’s best. You can imagine what it would be like, for example, if society as a whole had to agree on the “right” bedtime and rising time for everyone.
Even with things we consider appropriate for society as a whole to decide, the process isn’t easy. Consider the following three possible beliefs:
- Are you in favor of low taxes?
- Are you in favor of good roads?
- Are you in favor of good public education?
Most people (at least in the U.S.) would agree with all three. The conflicts—cognitive dissonance on a cultural level—occur because of differences of opinion in how roads and public schools should be funded. On a smaller scale, we can see this in restaurant behavior. A group goes to a restaurant that insists on one bill for the entire table. Who pays what? A common saying in business is that there’s no free lunch. Someone always pays, even when we don’t fully appreciate who is doing the buying. Back in the “old days” of publishing, editors picked up the checks. What authors rarely realized was that the cost of lunch (or dinner with several bottles of expensive wine) was being charged against profits on the books they were writing. Who pays isn’t always clear….
When it comes to taxes, roads, and education, the two principal questions are, “What’s more important,” and “What’s “fair.” Should you have to pay taxes for public education if you don’t have children in school? (I am reminded of a bumper sticker from a few years ago: “If you think education is expensive, calculate the cost of ignorance.” Should trucks and cars be taxed at the same rate? What isn’t always obvious is how those without children might benefit from having an educated population, and how the taxes paid by trucks influences the cost of the goods being delivered. How much of what you pay for clothing, food, appliances, and other stuff goes to pay for their transportation from manufacturer to outlet? It is not always easy to tell who is buying “lunch.”
The main thing, however, is your increasing awareness of how a pebble tossed in the pond sends ripples out in all directions. If taxes are too low, we pay for it in other ways. The U.S. deficit, for example, is a hidden tax. We are paying interest on everything “we” owe. At some point, the bill will come due, and we (or our children) will have to pay. At some point, the roads (and other infrastructure items, such as bridges) will become so bad as to become unusable (already several major bridges have had to be closed). Currently, the condition of the roads in the U.S. is estimated to cost auto owners an average of $500 a year in repairs. Back in the days when humans were hunting and gathering, problems and solutions were fairly simple. Find food. When you find it, eat. Then, find more food. And so on.
These days both problems and solutions are more complex, and we really need solutions that address the complexity of the problems. The old “either/or” thinking will no longer serve. For whom should taxes be low, and what constitutes “low”? How do we assign value to things we (collectively) want? What are the costs and benefits associated with good roads? With a well-educated population? What’s worth paying for, what isn’t, and how do we go about reaching agreement?
However you answer these questions is less important than your understanding that the issues are more complex than they may seem—and, one way or another, you are buying lunch.
