Cognitive Dissonance In Police Killings

Festinger developed a cognitive dissonance theory that exclaimed people feel uncomfortable with inconsistency in their actions and morals and will work to either alter their actions or their opinions to reconcile this dissatisfaction. Avoiding scenarios that exacerbate these feelings is a tactic used to reduce dissonance. The more challenging the changes from a decision someone makes or the more “irreversible” a decision seems, rises the likelihood of someone rationalizing the decision. For example, someone might purchase a motorcycle instead of a regular vehicle and hate riding in the rain and having to worry about not being as visible on the road. However, since this was an expensive purchase that lost value as soon it was brought home, and
When someone deviates from their sense of self, it results in them undermining the value of the core belief and viewing the event or person that caused the dissonance more favorably. Since police killings make people feel dissonance, they are more likely to view the officers in a positive light. Another way people can deny dissonance, is by overvaluing the traits and values they have upheld in an attempt to paint themselves as a good, morally righteous person. Police are a core part of our society and most people do not want to consider that they could be corrupt. This would shake their sense of safety, their core values in society, and the sense of justice and loyalty they
Asch’s conformity study made participants tell differences in length of lines when the majority answered incorrectly. These people did not receive any explanation why the majority disagreed and it dealt with an issue that was unimportant. Confusion would have been an issue and it is “hard to act independently when things don’t make sense”. People actively construe and act in response to their subjective interpretation of the experience. It is imperative to imagine oneself in the experiment to understand why someone would not have spoken up. Asch’s study also demonstrates the willingness of people to conform to save their reputation in groups. This can help us gain insight to why people ignore or support brutality. Constant messages of black violence from the media, lack of coverage for years on police violence, and societies’ perception of police as pillars of the community all influence these false mindsets. Since these beliefs have been built on for years, it must be very confusing to hear about reports of police violence that has gotten recent attention. Not trusting the police in a world constructed by the media as dangerous and volatile would also leave them exposed and