Cognitive Dissonance, Dysfunction and Incentives

A particular negative mindset or problematic way of viewing the world that people adopt to deal with difficulties as they mature, but that can get in the way of healthy and productive living is addressed by schema theory. Cognitive dissonance is caused by new information which cannot be easily integrated.   

 For example, a person with a subjugation schema feels an overpowering obligation to submit to another person's will, to be told what to do and be judged by someone else. Often such a person will believe in their heart that they need to do what another person says in order to be loved, valuable, etc. 

 As a result, having the subjugation schema means burying or ignoring one's own needs, desires, inclinations, judgments, and beliefs-whether this is happening due to giving in to others or to being preoccupied with rebelling against others, as in both cases the person with the subjugation schema is reacting to others' needs, desires, and actions instead of their own. 

 A typical way for a subjugation schema is to develop is through an overly controlling parent. Thoughts about what will happen if a person doesn't comply with what another wants are often fraught with magnification and fortune telling instead of being a true assessment of the likely results. 

 What can be seen as sinister is that there’s something of a perverse incentive to exacerbate social dysfunction that arise from cognitive dissonance. Where there exists dysfunction and unfulfilled needs, there’s plentiful opportunities for profit.