In psychology, there is an important concept called cognitive dissonance. It refers to the mental state when someone holds two conflicting beliefs or ideas. When this happens, it can lead to negative feelings such as confusion, anxiety, guilt, or frustration. One way for people to deal with these negative emotions is to change their behavior so it matches what they believe in.
If you think that smoking is bad but you continue doing it anyway, then you will experience cognitive dissonance between your actions and beliefs. To reduce this conflict, you may stop smoking. This process can also apply to emotional responses. Sometimes, people interpret their emotions differently than how they actually feel because of something else going on inside them. In other cases, they might not be aware of their true emotions at all. They build up a narrative about themselves based on past experiences and expectations, which can influence how they view future events.
The term "emotional response" refers to the physical reactions that occur when you have certain feelings. Some common examples include facial expressions, body language, and voice tone. These are involuntary reactions that happen outside of our conscious control.
We still tend to put meaning behind them by attributing them to specific emotions like happiness or sadness. So, if someone has an emotional response that contradicts the story they tell themselves, they may try to rationalize it away.
If you're having trouble connecting with someone romantically but still find yourself feeling attracted to them, you could convince yourself that you only like their appearance. Or maybe you were raised to believe that sex before marriage is wrong and yet find yourself wanting to do it anyway. By justifying your actions through words, you can preserve your self-image without facing the truth.
Some people are more open to exploring their emotions without judging them too much. Instead of assuming they know what's causing their feelings, they look deeper into why they feel the way they do. It takes courage and curiosity to challenge one's own beliefs in order to better understand oneself. This process often involves experimenting with new behaviors or talking to others about one's struggles. By doing so, individuals learn to accept themselves for who they really are instead of sticking to a script written by society or family.
Understanding ourselves allows us to make choices based on reality rather than fantasy.
How do people interpret emotional responses that contradict the narrative they have built about themselves?
Emotions are complex and multifaceted phenomena that can be influenced by various factors such as individual experiences, cultural norms, and social expectations. When an emotion conflicts with a self-narrative that someone has constructed for themselves, it may cause them to experience cognitive dissonance or distress. People may respond to this situation in different ways depending on their personal beliefs, values, and coping strategies.