>>21961915
when I read it with the new linguistics, it screams, the POSTER doesn't like Trump and call's him Donnie instead of DJT. and with the reeeeeeeeeeeeeeee the person further wants to intentionally anger you about it. while playing it off as funny while blaming YOU for having Cognitive Dissonance
When a part of your presenting self is attacked by others
and you aren’t willing to accept their judgment, you are
faced with what psychologists call cognitive dissonance—
an inconsistency between two conflicting pieces of infor-
mation, attitudes, or behavior. a One way to eliminate the
dissonance is to accept the critic’s judgment and revise
your presenting self accordingly. You could agree that you
were stupid or mistaken, for example. Sometimes, how-
ever, you aren’t willing to accept judgments. The accusa-
tions of your critic may be false. And even if they are true,
you may be unwilling to admit their truth. It isn’t pleasant
to admit that you were lazy, unfair, or foolish. • Regression. Another way to avoid facing attack is to
play helpless, claiming you can’t do something when in
truth you don’t want to do it. “I wish I could do the job
better, but I just can’t. I just don’t understand it.” The
test for regression is to substitute the word won’t for
can’t. In many cases it becomes clear that “It’s not my
fault” is a fiction.
Besides being aggressive or argumentative (see page 344),
there are two ways to resolve dissonance without agree-
ing with the criticism. Each of them is characterized by
defense mechanisms: psychological devices that resolve
dissonance by maintaining a positive presenting image. • Physical avoidance. Steering clear of people who
attack a presenting self is an obvious way to avoid
dissonance.
Distorting Critical Information
The first way of defending a perceived self under attack
is to somehow distort the critical information in a manner
that leaves the presenting self intact—at least in the eyes
of the defender.
• Rationalization. Rationalizations are logical but untrue
explanations of behavior that is unacceptable to the
self. “I would help you out, but I really have to study,”
you might say as a convenient way to avoid an
unpleasant chore.
• Compensation. Compensation emphasizes a strength
in one area to cover up a weakness in another. You
might try to convince yourself and others that you are
a good friend by compensating, “Sorry I forgot your
birthday. Let me give you a hand with that job.”
Avoiding Dissonant Information
A second way to protect a threatened presenting image
is to avoid information altogether. Avoidance can take
several forms.
• Repression. Sometimes we mentally block out dis-
sonant information. You might, for instance, know that
you ought to discuss a problem with a friend, boss, or
instructor, yet you put the idea out of your mind when-
ever it arises.
• Apathy. This avoidance response involves acknowledg-
ing unpleasant information but pretending that you
don’t care about it. You might, for instance, sit calmly
through a friend’s criticism and act as if it didn’t bother
you.
• Displacement. Displacement occurs when we vent
aggressive or hostile feelings against people or objects
that are seen as less threatening than the people or
objects that threatened us originally. You may be mad
at your boss, but rather than risk getting fired, you could
displace your aggression by yelling at the people you
live with.
CHAPTER TEN, “T YPES OF DEFENSIVE
REACTIONS”
a. L. Festinger (1957). A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance.
Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
(from Looking out Looking In)