The excellent Psyblog has a fascinating post on cognitive dissonance. It picks apart a deliciously deceptive 1959 psychological experiment in order to help us understand how and why we lie to ourselves when confronted with opposing ideas/feelings that we desire to be reconciled.
The ground-breaking social psychological experiment of Festinger and Carlsmith (1959) provides a central insight into the stories we tell ourselves about why we think and behave the way we do. The experiment is filled with ingenious deception so the best way to understand it is to imagine you are taking part. So sit back, relax and travel back. The time is 1959 and you are an undergraduate student at Stanford University…
Now did I really think that was a fascinating post or have I just convinced myself of that? Well I’m quite sure it’s genuinely interesting and worth a read. :)