Cognitive Dissonance

Cognitive Dissonance

Cognitive Dissonance Theory was developed by Leon Festinger in 1957. It is concerned with the relationships among cognitions. Cognition can be thought of as piece of knowledge or belief. Examples are that you like the color blue, or that you know you played well in a game, or that you know certain laws. Cognitions are said to be dissonant if one opposes the other. This is defined by Festinger as a, “psychological phenomenon which refers to the discomfort felt at a discrepancy between what you already know or believe, and new information or interpretation. It therefore occurs when there is a need to accommodate new ideas, and it may be necessary for it to develop so that we become "open" to them.” This could play a role in evolutionary survival for a species as they may have to adapt to things that are against their previous knowledge or beliefs even if that makes them feel uncomfortable. The fundamental principle in evolution is the competition for survival. It goes to the old saying “adapt or die”, and “only the strong survive”. So by adapting to and changing due to cognitive dissonance this could prove to beneficial for an individual or even a species.

In a book on Swarm Intelligence the author, Jamie Kennedy, defines it as, “Swarm intelligence refers to a kind of problem-solving ability that emerges in the interactions of simple information-processing units. The concept of a swarm suggests multiplicity, stochasticity, randomness, and messiness, and the concept of intelligence suggests that the problem-solving method is somehow successful”(187). The information processing units he talk about can range from insects, birds, or human beings. He goes on to say that particle swarm is based on a certain insight regarding human behavior and cognition. Simply put: “people learn to make sense of the world by talking with other people about it”(188). This implies that humans beings learn more by being around other humans. So it is beneficial...