{"id":19952,"date":"2014-07-10T17:53:11","date_gmt":"2014-07-10T07:53:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nofibs.com.au\/?p=19952"},"modified":"2019-04-13T23:57:57","modified_gmt":"2019-04-13T13:57:57","slug":"are-australians-struggling-with-cognitive-dissonance-over-asylumseekers-asrcs-jj_juliajacob-comments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.nofibs.com.au\/are-australians-struggling-with-cognitive-dissonance-over-asylumseekers-asrcs-jj_juliajacob-comments\/","title":{"rendered":"Are Australians struggling with cognitive dissonance over #asylumseekers? ASRC’s @jj_juliajacob comments"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cognitive Dissonance is a phrase introduced by psychologist Festinger in the late 1950s to describe the mental conflict or psychological discomfort a person feels when their beliefs and assumptions are contradicted by new information.<\/p>\n

Human nature is such that when dealing with mental discomfort, it chooses to do one or more of the following 3 things to reduce this internal tension or dissonance;<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Change the belief, attitude or behaviour completely<\/li>\n
  2. Justify the belief or behaviour<\/li>\n
  3. Actively ignore, deny or avoid information that contradicts the existing beliefs<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Here are some every day instances most of us can relate to.<\/p>\n

    You go out with friends and end up having one too many glasses of red wine. Cognitive dissonance or that internal voice starts piping up. Internal voice \u2013 \u201cYou know better than to have too much to drink. You know your limit\u201d. You deal with this by trying to rationalise your decision and making the internal voice go away. \u201cStop bothering me! I\u2019ve had a hard day so I deserve this\u201d or \u201cI\u2019ll run an extra mile tomorrow to compensate\u201d or \u201cAll that extra resveratrol and antioxidants are surely good for me\u201d.<\/p>\n

    Another example is a smoker who has trouble quitting, justifying his actions by saying \u201cIt\u2019s just too hard\u201d or \u201cMy dad smoked a pack a day and lived to be 95\u201d.<\/p>\n

    These are just a few of the everyday illustrations of how people, when faced with internal tensions, choose to reduce them by justifying their behaviour (\u201cI\u2019ve had a stressful day so I need a drink to take the edge off\u201d) or ignoring information that questions their core beliefs (Smokers die at least 10 years younger than non-smokers) rather than changing their belief or behaviour.<\/p>\n

    Most Australians would probably think of themselves as compassionate, fair and progressive. They believe this and I want to believe this. Except – that is not the case for the majority when it comes to asylum seekers and refugees.<\/p>\n

    I was staggered when I read the results of a nationwide opinion poll conducted by UMR Research last December that showed that 59% of people think most boat arrivals are not genuine refugees. 60% actually want the Abbott government to \u201cincrease the severity of the treatment of asylum seekers.\u201d In other words, 3 out of 5 Australians want more punitive measures taken against asylum seekers.<\/p>\n

    It simply does not make sense. Why would a country that has a history steeped in boat people mete out brutal punishment to those that share a similar resilience to their ancestors in seeking a better, safer life for themselves and their families? Why would a smart person continue not just to believe, but in fact contribute to spreading, misinformation about asylum seekers when there is a boat load of (no pun intended) compelling evidence to prove otherwise.<\/p>\n

    This is akin to someone steadfastly believing that the earth is flat, the moon is made of cheese or Santa is real!<\/p>\n

    \"cognitive<\/p>\n

    Illustration published with permission of the artist, Les Taha – lestaha@lestaha.com<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

    My reasoning is that many Australians appear to be struggling with cognitive dissonance when it comes to the treatment of asylum seekers and refugees. They are resisting the evidence and information that could throw their belief system into disarray and cause them mental grief. I think that many are probably thinking \u201cFor goodness sakes, I have enough to deal with as it is. I don\u2019t want to deal with the issue of asylum seekers. Do what you need to but just make it go away\u201d.<\/p>\n

    People seem to be opting for the simplistic and devious narrative of Scott Morrison and his minions rather than the more involved, challenging option of seeking the truth that tears at their deeply rooted (pun intended!) belief system. That\u2019s taking the easy way out and relinquishing their decision making to someone else. I see no other reason to explain the citizenry\u2019s extreme response to a most vulnerable group of people fleeing conflict and persecution. A large section probably feels \u201cstopping the boats means lives have been saved.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Even when there is plenty of evidence to dispel the most common myths about asylum seekers and refugees, people either choose to justify indefinite detention or ignore information that highlights that the Coalition is employing measures that violate the most basic human rights of asylum seekers and is operating in contravention of the Refugee Convention.<\/p>\n

    Some of the common myths and the evidence in contrast are:<\/p>\n