Welcome to the world of cognitive dissonance reduction. Some social psychologists, starting with Leon Festinger, have speculated that when people have to make choices for or against some controversial action, they subsequently intensify the intensity of their committment by defending it more strongly than their previous doubts would have suggested. This is a theorized method of reducing any mental discomfort that might arise when they meet another person, regardless of whether that person might agree with them or not. If true, this analysis helps explain a lot of things we see every day, and might be a pathway to understanding fanaticism.
Last edited by Allen Tice; 04-13-2012 at 12:41 PM.
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