For the first full episode of Mindscape, it's an honor to welcome social psychologist Carol Tavris. Her book with co-author Eliot Aronson, Mistakes Were Made (But Not By Me), explores the effect that cognitive dissonance has on how we think. We talk about the fascinating process by which people justify the mistakes that they make, and how that leads to everything from false memories to political polarization. [smart_track_player url="http://traffic.libsyn.com/seancarroll/carol-tavris.mp3" social_email="true" hashtag="mindscapepodcast" ] Carol Tavris received her Ph.D. in social psychology from the University of Michigan. She is the author of numerous books, covering topics such as gender, biology, and emotion, and is a frequent contributor to a variety of newspapers and magazines. She is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, the Association for Psychological Science and the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. Carol Tavris on Wikipedia Social Psychology Network profile Amazon.com author page A lecture on "Dissent and Dissonance: The Science and Art of Argument." Download Episode See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Dr. Carol Tavris discusses Cognitive Dissonance, its impact on beliefs and behaviors. Explores societal divisions, self-justification, and decision-making. Highlights examples like Sarah Silverman's reaction and the role of forgiveness. Examines cognitive dissonance during the COVID pandemic and in political contexts. Emphasizes the need for empathy and understanding in navigating conflicting beliefs.

Exploring cognitive dissonance and biases, Carol Tavris discusses how our need to justify our beliefs leads to rationalization and mistreatment of others. She highlights the fallibility of human memory and cultural variations in handling cognitive dissonance. Strategies for navigating critical thinking and engaging with differing viewpoints are also explored, emphasizing the importance of objectivity and compassion.

Renowned social psychologists Carol Tavris and Elliot Aronson are the co-authors of Mistakes Were Made (But Not By Me), a book which explores the science of cognitive biases and discusses how the human brain is wired for self-justification. In this episode, Carol and Elliot discuss how our desire to reconcile mental conflicts adversely affects many aspects of society. The two give real-world examples to demonstrate the pitfalls in attempts to reduce mental conflict, or dissonance. The examples reveal that no one is immune to dissonance reduction behavior, how intellectual honesty can be trained and lastly, how to think critically in order to avoid engaging in harmful dissonant behaviors. We discuss: Carol and Elliot’s respective background, collaboration history, and their decision to write Mistakes Were Made (But Not By Me) [4:00]; The theory of cognitive dissonance, and real examples of dissonance reduction in action [11:15]; How Elliot advanced the theory of cognitive dissonance [23:00]; The evolutionary reason for dissonance reduction, and cultural differences in what causes cognitive dissonance [30:30]; The great danger of smart, powerful people engaging in dissonance reduction [35:15]; Two case studies of cognitive dissonance in criminal justice [39:30]; The McMartin preschool case study—The danger in making judgements before knowing all the information [43:30]; How ideology distorts science and public opinion [56:30]; How time distorts memories [58:30]; The downside of certainty [1:05:30]; Are we all doomed to cognitive dissonance?—How two people with similar beliefs can diverge [1:09:00]; Cognitive dissonance in the police force [1:21:00]; A toolkit for overcoming cognitive dissonance [1:27:30]; Importance of separating identity from beliefs, thinking critically, & and the difficulty posed by political polarity [1:30:30]; How to impart the lessons from their work into future generations [1:48:00]; and More. Learn more: https://peterattiamd.com/ Show notes page for this episode: https://peterattiamd.com/caroltavris-elliotaronson/  Subscribe to receive exclusive subscriber-only content: https://peterattiamd.com/subscribe/ Sign up to receive Peter's email newsletter: https://peterattiamd.com/newsletter/ Connect with Peter on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

Dr. Carol Tavris, a distinguished social psychologist and feminist, discusses the dynamic nature of feminism and its historical impact on women's health. She highlights cognitive dissonance's role in women's medical decision-making and the crucial need for inquisitiveness. Exploring hormone therapy, Tavris underscores the importance of challenging outdated medical warnings and addressing biases. Advocacy for women's health emerges as a priority, along with the need for clear, evidence-based information to empower women in their healthcare journeys.