Cognitive Dissonance In Opening Skinner's Box

In the book, Opening Skinner’s Box Lauren Slater introduces many psychologists, one of the few she has studied was Leon Festinger. Festinger taught at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and later published The Theory of Cognitive Dissonance in 1957. Dissonance means a lack of agreement between beliefs someone may hold dear. Festinger believed humans conform to an ideology to conceal their actions. Festinger’s theory clearly states, “An individual created a motivation force that would lead, under proper conditions, to the adjustment of one's belief to fit one's behavior—instead of changing one's behavior to fit one's belief ”(Slater 112). Addicts, for example, believe their drug of choice helps them cope with reality. They create excuses like “it's only one time,”
Addicts make rational decisions causing them to create a web of lies and steal possessions just to get their next dose. They surround themselves with people who have similar backgrounds and manipulate their loved ones. Their outlook towards non-addicts are negative and pre-judge them as judgmental or stuck up, they have developed a type of dissonance to feel superior. The more they believe it's okay, the less likely they will get help. Before they became addicts, there may have been a sense of guilt but once they become numb to the guilt, their reality becomes a fantasy. As Festinger’s theory predicts an addict will create false beliefs to hide their true behavior or, in this case, addictive behavior. Conventional wisdom has it that medical advances allow loved ones to live longer, some believe that life support is only for