Cognitive Dissonance: Affecting Party Orientation and Selective Recall of Political Information

Cognitive dissonance theory posits that inconsistencies between attitudes and behaviors cause an uncomfortable arousal state, and people are motivated to reduce this discomfort by changing attitudes or behaviors to increase consistency. This principle applies to research on political affiliation. Due to dissonance processes, individuals focus less on political information that opposes their views and pay greater attention when it is congruent with their views. This study adds to this research by examining whether political orientation causes a similar pattern of selective attention bias during the recall stage. Participants (117) studied a political article on a social issue representing a viewpoint that was favorable to Democrats. Next, participants recalled as much information as possible by typing the information in a textbox. Using a sliding scale, they also rated how they felt about the article in terms of arousal and affect, and indicated whether the article was neutral, positive, or negative. Democrats were predicted to recall more positive information and more positive affect after reading the article than Republicans. Surprisingly, more Republicans, rather than Democrats, recalled more positive information about the article. Finally, those who scored more conservatively on the political slider also reported more positive affect toward the article. Although contrary to the study hypotheses, these results have implications for our current understanding of selective attention in a political context by showing the bias also occurs at the recall stage. It takes a special effort to be able to think outside the bubble. The purpose of this study is to find what it takes to pop the bubble and change the mindset of political engaged people. Keywords: cognitive dissonance, attentional bias, political orientation, selective recall

Duped and Deceived

We are hard-wired to notice, seek, and be influenced by patterns. Sometimes these turn out to be useful; other times, they dupe and deceive us. Our affinity for patterns is powerful—no doubt, aided and abetted by selective recall and confirmation bias. We remember when a pattern persists and confirms our belief, and we forget or explain away times when it doesn’t. We are still under the spell of silly superstitions and captivated by numerical coincidences. We still think that some numbers are lucky, and others unlucky, even though the numbers deemed lucky and unlucky vary from culture to culture. We still think some numbers are special and notice them all around us. We still turn numerical patterns into laws and extrapolate flukes into confident predictions. The allure of patterns is hard to ignore. The temptation is hard to resist.

The restoration of the Buganda Kingdom Government 1986–2014: culture, contingencies, constraints

ABSTRACTThe restoration of the Kabaka of Buganda a quarter century after its abolition was the unexpected and contested product of different views of Ganda social structure that had emerged over several centuries. Competing groups, despite acting on contradictory cultural principles, overcame the suspicion of a newly empowered central government. Selective recall of cultural norms and adroit organisational tactics of the individuals who recreated the Buganda Kingdom Government allowed them to surpass their rivals and become the main Ganda interlocutors with the central government. They persuaded the central government to restore the king, though not the kingdom. The compromise they struck permitted the king to be cultural, but not political. Not only did that raise further questions about the meaning of Ganda culture, it constrained the Buganda Kingdom Government's ability to promote Ganda interests with the central government and on occasion reduced its support from the Ganda public in the years following restoration.