Of Pandemics, Paradoxes And Cognitive Dissonance: Covid-19

Living through this difficult time raises demanding questions about what – or who – the real problems are

- Sirion Robertson

I first heard the term ‘cognitive dissonance’ from Peter du Preez, who at that time (1968) was a Senior Lecturer in the Psychology Department at UCT. I was in the Zoology Department, and he was an occasional member of our squash playing group. We were simple zoology teachers, and Peter introduced us to some interesting terms and concepts. Cognitive dissonance was one. Over the many years since then (I haven’t played squash for at least 40, and I left UCT in 1970), I would sometimes revisit the notion of cognitive dissonance and see what I could fit it to in the surrounding world. It fits the COVID situation perfectly.

“Cognitive dissonance: The state of having inconsistent thoughts, beliefs or attitudes, especially as relating to behavioural decisions and attitude change.” (Oxford Dictionary)

The world population is in the penumbra of this disturbing but interesting state of mind. I googled cognitive dissonance (CD) while writing this article. The theory is alive and kicking and has recently been updated. Indeed, one recent contribution has brought it into the biological camp (or vice versa) by looking at evolutionary implications of dissonance. In nosing around the net, I immediately came across an example of current CD: to mask or not to mask – that is the question. We are caught between the millstones of experts who disagree: that is the dissonance. In fact, this seems to have been more or less resolved. Masking is winning by a short head, although there are still disturbing items of fact or logic adhering to the non-masking argument. Like a melody, the dissonance lingers on. One of the things that holds the attention of CD theorists is the ways in which we resolve it, and the consequences of our choices. Deception and denial are – predictably – high on the list.