The Illusion : The foundation society needed to break.
"To be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others" - Nelson Mandela
In the current moment society is going through healing and breaking free from illusions and confusion from being in a state of cognitive dissonance. We all have had moments of “that doesn’t make sense but we got to go along with it” living in a state of unauthentic nature. Going against who we are, it’s fascinating, it reminds me of this looney toon episode when Bugs Bunny is trying to sleep.Its completely dark one by one lights pop on and he shouts “turn off those lights”. Instead of turning them off society is fighting to keep them on.
Leading me to one question like a fresh baked pie. What are the signs of recovering from cognitive dissonance from a sociological perspective and how is this applicable to brands and businesses?
Before we unpack this luggage keep one thing in mind human rights are the most authentic authority society can express. We are all connected in some way, the healing process is never easy; always liberating.
Now, the definition of cognitive dissonance is the mental discomfort, stress, or tension experienced when a person holds two or more conflicting beliefs, attitudes, or values, or when their actions contradict their beliefs.
Throughout history people of color, poor, sick and disabled have lived through and experienced the pain from cognitive dissonance. The messages thrown out in society in the past created this confusion. Code switching is another form, society has always try to follow the rules set whether spoken or not. Over the last decade majority of society has fought against the status quo; the “this is how it’s always been.”
Collectively, people have had enough regardless of their views. There’s a reason society and its people don’t want to hide from who they are or what they have learned or experienced; the word is Cognitive Dissonance. Unfortunately, it hides behind a one two punch called NATIONALISM. My theory from the expression of this word is Inclusion is the connector of a persons identity. And social cognitive dissonance impacts the ability to express themselves without thinking.
Over the past week countries have stood up for one cause or another, taking to the streets to say “hey we are here and we are standing our ground.”
Nepal is a very good example: Gen Z generation had enough of the nepotism they felt was taking place. They wouldn’t allow cognitive dissonance to continue in their country anymore , collective action followed. Collectively they made it difficult for the opposition to continue by overpowering those who ignored their human rights.
In other countries like in Paris the people refused to allow rights to be taken away to “fix” the financial crisis taking place. Society is not going into the next chapter of history blindly anymore. Healing of social cognitive dissonance is a process that may appear as chaotic steps backward.
“To have a comeback, you have to have a setback.”
Mr T
Cognitive Dissonance is disruptive to the psyche personally and collectively. While this healing occurs in society brands and businesses should be aware of how it will look while society is breaking free from Cognitive Dissonance chains.
I asked ChatGPT to simplify the stages:
1. Re-engagement with Social Roles
2. Strengthening of Social Identity
3. Increased Social Connectedness
4. Embodiment in Collective Practices
5. Restoration of Agency
6. Social Recognition of Healing
7. Engagement in Collective Meaning-Making
Each stage or recovery behavior has a trigger. We will touch on that another day. Today we will stay focused on the actual behavior. Right before Covid people engagement seemed to flow. They knew what their role was in society and how to get up everyday and live that role well. Once Covid became apparent and unavoidable in 2019 , roles started change eroding previous foundation of the roles eventually limiting or eliminating that role altogether. It’s taken almost another 7 years to re-engage in the roles people once knew. The problem is those roles no longer carry the same meaning and value, engagement decreases, restructuring happens. Society at large re-engagement has lead to questing current trends and roles authority places on the people.
Stage 2 is triggered by stage one; once people no longer fight against their new roles in society; subcultures embrace their social identity like Gen Z has done in Nepal, or the white male nationalist communities in the United States States. These subcultures of society are trying to reclaim and integrate their identity with in society. The question boils down to “who am I? And what is my ancestral identity?” Brands can connect using the brands beliefs to solidify their identity in society- events, community engagements, etc.
Followed by the next phase strengthening social identity- these people are who I’m apart of and because of this connection we will always help each other. People have been seeking out life time communities for years, participating in community engagement to foster bonds. Not knowing if their neighbors beliefs will impact the community at large. Now people are more conscious than ever; more aware of the societies current culture of acceptance and dissatisfaction. Trust will no longer be a one way street.
Collectively, when people feel they will no longer be objected to certain behaviors and groups a bond is formed or strengthened between the marginalized groups. Leading to participation in shared rituals and routines without feeling alienated. A perfect example is Terrance Crawfords walk in with a guitar and a mariachi band song.The symbolism touched the Mexican community, embracing him even more, regardless of his African American descent ethnicity. He was welcomed among the Hispanic culture without judgement. Another example is the first ever concert at the Vatican- embracement of African American music when Clipse a hip-hop group walked on stage to perform Birds Don’t Sing a hit song of their new album Let God Sort Em Out.
My theory 4-7 will take some time the people have not perfected their interactions yet, eventually society will start to slowly move towards stages 4-7. Right now people are maneuvering their way around what they once knew vs what they know now. Instead of events causing confusion; it’s causing clarity for some and confirmation for others. Brands and business can help and influence how this happens. When brands are their authentic self regardless of views they thrive better in the communities that accept their beliefs. Even companies can have cognitive dissonance when trying to figure out who to serve. The one way to combat that is not go against their company values and beliefs to appease a certain demographic. If the demographic wasn’t engaging in the first place don’t be inauthentic to get them engaging now. They will feel flim -flamed, bamboozled and lead a stray. That’s what groups cancel because they go digging and they keep receipts. When it’s time they will bring it up and ask “this you?”. Brands and companies can stay away from this by holding steady to companies beliefs and values.
As society moves further away from cognitive dissonance what was once allowed when promoting or selling products and brands will no longer be tolerated. People don’t want to be sold too, they want to feel apart of and see it in their everyday lives.
