When reading Audiogon forum posts I am sometimes reminded of the theory of cognitive dissonance developed by social psychologist Leon Festinger back in the 1950s. The theory, which has since become well established as a central tenet of social psychology, deals with cognition (i.e., thoughts, beliefs) and behavior. One proposition implicit in Festinger’s theory is that we don’t always behave based on what we believe; rather, what we believe may be the result of how we have already behaved.
If you are not familiar with the theory of cognitive dissonance, a Google search on “Leon Festinger” and “cognitive dissonance” may prove enlightening. Here are a couple links that do a pretty good job of briefly explaining the theory.
http://www.simplypsychology.org/cognitive-dissonance.htmlhttp://inspiringscience.net/2012/01/27/cognitive-dissonance/In the second link, I particularly like the example of cognitive dissonance taken from Benjamin Franklin’s autobiography.
So what do you think? Might we, as audiophiles, be at the mercy of cognitive dissonance?