Cognitive dissonance did it for me!

Cognitive dissonance did it for me!

Yes I remember the date November 11 1996. That was the day I quit smoking. After the usual number of failed attempts and despite the discouragement of my puffing peers I finally did it. And the secret of ultimate success was seeing myself as somebody that just wasn't a smoker.

So I quickly related with a recent article in Science Daily reporting on a study carried out by Dr. Reuven Dar of Tel Aviv University's Department of Psychology which found that the intensity of cravings for cigarettes had more to do with the psychosocial element of smoking than with the physiological effects of nicotine as an addictive chemical.
In observations on in-flight attendants with limited opportunity to smoke and on religous Jews subject to a sabbath ban they found that both groups had low craving levels in situations where they expected not to smoke. For anyone that has ever smoked they would recognise that this is a pretty extreme illustration that our behaviour is formed by perception and belief. But it is the case... if I had been one of the flight attendants in the study and I smoked in flight then I would feel that my behaviour was at odds with what I believed to be right. Just like when I quit. I told myself that I was no longer a smoker. If I had a wavering moment I would have been experiencing cognitive dissonance ...the feeling of discomfort that results from holding two conflicting beliefs.
People tend to seek consistency in their beliefs and perceptions. In an often quoted study of misbehaving children it was shown that telling them that they were bad simply reinforced the bad behaviour. When told that they were good they ultimately corrected their bad behaviour because it was dissonant with being good.
All of us have deeply held beliefs. All of the choices that we make such as how we behave...to the kind of work we want to do....to the car we choose to drive are based on needs and wants that ultimately are derived from those deeply held beliefs. Anybody in sales will more than once in their career have encountered buyer's remorse and a cancelled sale. And probably dismissed the purchaser as a "time waster."
Truth is....if we are in the business of influencing others and we attempt this without regard for their beliefs and values then we shouldn't be surprised when we encounter some serious cognitive dissonance.