The Law and the Inability to Admit Mistakes

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In legal systems, individuals involved in prosecuting or arresting others often struggle to admit mistakes due to their perception of being the 'good guys'. This belief leads them to justify errors by assuming the arrested individuals must have committed other crimes if not the specific one, thereby avoiding the acknowledgment of their own mistakes. This inability to admit mistakes is not solely driven by fear of repercussions like being fired or fined but also by cognitive dissonance. This phenomenon explains why individuals lie to themselves to maintain consistency in their beliefs and actions. In legal settings and the military, once an individual is convinced of someone's guilt, no amount of contradictory evidence can sway their belief. This confirmation bias also extends to psychotherapists and social workers who interpret denials of abuse as mere denial, showcasing a fundamental flaw in how beliefs can override facts and evidence in decision-making processes.

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.