I wasn't going to post this because I didn't want to ruin Trump's chances of winning. Or at least be accused of trying to do that. I do however find it amusing that any questioning of the man generates such hostile responses from people. I have been called a liberal troll, a never Trumper, a commie and a cook for questioning some of Trump's actions. For four years we sat and listened to this nonsense about a brilliant 4-D chess game and even now, some people are still making that claim. What we were ultimately left with after four years of Trump was a weakened second amendment and a voter base that was seemingly ok with the most constitutional president ever violating expost facto laws and making people a felon for owning a piece of plastic. That is the very definition of cognitive dissonance.
Cognitive
Dissonance in American Voters
This paper will focus on
the attitudes of American voters in relation to their preferred candidate in
the upcoming 2020 presidential election. Many American voters are fiercely
partisan and will vote for the party they identify with whether the candidate in
question truly espouses the values of the voters or not. American elections are
known to be highly competitive, with focused messages meant to influence not
only a party’s own political base, but what is believed to be the needs and
desires of the American people. It is also a common belief of the American
electorate that candidates will say what they need to get elected and do the
exact opposite once in office. This paper will examine the role that cognitive dissonance theory and
confirmation bias plays in determining the actions of voters by comparing
beliefs pertaining to their preferred candidate, the actions these candidates
take after winning an election and why they are still largely supported.
Introduction
The
2020 presidential elections are among us. Americans are seemingly more polarized
and divided than ever before in their support for their preferred political
party. According to Edwards, (2017) the divide between Republicans and
Democrats on fundamental issues concerning the governing of America is at a
twenty-three-year high. Americans have become more ideologically rooted in
their beliefs and less likely to share in each other’s respective views
(Edwards, 2017). Issues like homosexual marriage, women’s rights, racial
equality, marriage and family, abortion and religion are hot contentious issues
which divide the two parties from an ideological perspective (Pew Research
Center) Other issues like the right to keep and bear arms also keep Americans
from coming together. The left’s support of gun control is reaching
unprecedented levels (Godfrey, 2020). Gun control is a good example of partisan
divide because in this writer’s opinion, the second amendment defines the
responsibility required to maintain freedom. In America, the right to life is
enshrined as a founding value, implying the responsibility to defend your life,
is yours. Unfortunately, neither
candidate in the current election truly lives up to the values their voters
believe in. For instance, Donald Trump, whether his voters want to admit it or
not, has done more to advance gun control than President Obama by banning a
devise known as a bump stock (Savage 2018). Joe Biden, despite his rhetoric on
fairness and equality, helped write the crime bill that caused many of the
problems he promises to fix today (Purdom, 2019). Despite these facts,
Americans are still loyal to their preferred candidate, believing they have
shared values. This type of partisanship results from voting for an individual’s
preferred party over many years, based on experience and decision making that
reflects the voter’s convictions (Fiorina, 1981). Cognitive dissonance theory
and the idea of confirmation bias may explain this loyalty to American’s
preferred political party, despite the obvious contradictions between promises
and actions taken.
Defining
Cognitive Dissonance
Cognitive
dissonance is a theory first proposed by Leon Festinger in 1957. The theory
attempts to explain contradictions between a person’s attitudes and beliefs,
and the way they may behave. In most cases, there is a steady consistency
between behavior and beliefs (Festinger, 1957). There are times when the
inconsistency is so great however, that as Festinger (1957) says, it demands
the attention of social scientists because the behavior and the belief contrast
so strongly. It is the type of
inconsistency in behavior that does not align with the person’s own beliefs, or
knowledge pertaining to such a behavior that defines cognitive dissonance
(Festinger, 1957). Festinger (1957) uses
smoking as an example. The smoker may know his or her own risk of contracting
lung cancer may be great yet chooses to keep smoking. Cognitive dissonance
occurs when the individual attempts to rationalize away their own blaring
inconsistencies, due to the psychological discomfort the contradiction causes
(Festinger, 1957).
Dissonance
occurs quiet frequently in most people, to some degree (Festinger, 1957). In
most cases it is something that happens whenever an individual is faced with
new information that conflicts with what they already know (Festinger, 1957).
Dissonance is the knowledge that a particular behavior and the belief behind it
are not aligned (Festinger, 1957) and there is some effort to reduce the
discomfort. One of the methods in which people reduce this dissonance is to
either change their opinions, or disregard the sources providing new
information (Osgood & Tannenbaum, 1955). This is something commonly seen in
politics today. People cling so tightly to the political parties they align with
that they often ignore any information that contradicts the reason they support
them.
Dissonance,
or psychological discomfort brought about by conflicting cognitive beliefs, has
come to viewed as a state of arousal that effects the individual either
positively, or negatively (Cooper & Fazio, 1984). When effected negatively,
people become motivated to reduce feelings of discomfort (Fazio & Cooper,
1893). This is known as dissonance reduction (Elliot & Devine, 1994). The
arousal and resulting discomfort are complete processes in cognitive dissonance
(Elliot & Devine, 1994) which lead to the individual attempting to relieve
the discomfort by coming up with discomfort reduction strategies (Elliot &
Devine, 1994). According to Elliot & Devine (1994), the arousal theory put
forth by Cooper & Fazio (1984), has been proven through various studies to
be more accurate than dissonance as psychological discomfort alone. Though, in
this writer’s opinion, it is difficult to differentiate between arousal and any
other stimulus that may cause psychological discomfort. Arousal means to
motivate one into action, or to be in an excited state. The psychological
discomfort theory put forth by Festinger (1957) suggests that certain
stimulus’, beliefs, or attitudes that conflict one another may cause discomfort.
The discomfort itself could realistically be viewed as arousal if it causes one
to seek ways to alleviate the discomfort.
It
has been difficult to determine the effectiveness of dissonance reduction
strategies when it comes to the psychological discomfort as motivation paradigm
(Elliot & Devine, 1994). More studies have been conducted looking at the
issue from the dissonance from arousal viewpoint (Elliot & Devine, 1994). It
would be more effective, argue Elliot & Devine (1994) to use Festinger’s
(1957) model because Cooper and Fazio’s (1984) theory of arousal does not
provide for a direct role of reducing the arousal, only a direct role in the
arousal itself, creating dissonance. Elliot & Devine (1994) also claim that
Cooper & Fazio’s new look theory (1984), would likely lead to a reduction
in arousal, but not discomfort. This is unclear because the arousal should be
considered the discomfort. The arousal itself, in this writer’s opinion, should
be viewed as the discomfort caused by inconsistencies between belief and
action.
Stone
& Cooper (2000) argue that a self-evaluation of an individual’s behavior is
done against a standard of the individual’s personal values and beliefs. This
is called the self-standards model (Stone & Cooper, 2000). It has been
traditionally thought that an individual’s self-esteem plays a major role in
dissonance reduction and even the initial arousal (Stone & Cooper, 2000). This
thought has stemmed from the other predominant theories of dissonance which are
the self-consistency and, the self- affirmation models (Stone & Cooper,
2000).
The
self-consistency model argues that a person’s moral beliefs and attitudes come
from the moral standards of the community in which they live, or surround
themselves with (Thibodeau & Aronson, 1992). Cognitive dissonance in this
model, adheres to the same standard definition of perceived conflictions
between a behavior and belief. The defending of the behavior which contradicts
a person’s morals is done to maintain a sense of self-competency (Thibodeau
& Aronson, 1992). Stone & Cooper (2000) argue that an individual’s
self-esteem regulates the way they deal with dissonance, or the arousal caused
by behaviors that challenges their morality. For instance, a person with high
self-esteem is more likely to feel the annoyance of behaving in a manner which
calls in to question a deeply held conviction, whereas a person with low
self-esteem may not even notice there is a conflict (Stone & Cooper, 2000).
Self-affirmation
theory proposes the same ideas as self-consistency, but refers to the theory of
dissonance as information which contradicts an individual’s positive image of
self, and the system they have developed internally which defines their values
(Heine & Darrin, 1997). This is referred to as global self-integrity (Heine
& Darrin, 1997). Unlike other models, self-affirmation model argues that a
person can restore their sense of integrity quickly if the dissonance they are
experiencing is completely unrelated to their sense of self (Steele, 1988). In
other words, people can brush off feelings of dissonance if they have access to
other aspects of self that reinforce their own positive self-image (Steele,
1988).
Major areas of study in cognitive dissonance
There
are three major areas of study concerning cognitive dissonance (Bem 1967).
Forced compliance, free choice, and exposure to information (Bem 1967). Each of
these categories explores how the individual responds to the conflicting
information within the given paradigm. Forced compliance is the idea that an
individual is experiencing dissonance because he was forced to take a position
or make a statement that contradicts his own personal beliefs (Bem, 1967).
According to Bem (1967) this area of study contributed the most research to the
theory of cognitive dissonance. Janis & King (1954), in their paper
entitled “The influence of role playing on opinion change,” noted that
when someone is forced to take on a differing opinion, particularly in a
role-playing paradigm which emulates real life difficulties, opinions can be
easily persuaded. A good example can be drawn from this writer’s own experience
in a Master of Clinical Social Work degree program at the University of
Oklahoma. An entire mock city was made, and the students played the role of
poor and marginalized people who were all dependent on someone else to get them
the things they needed and, to where they needed to go. The exercise could be
described as one of the “psychodramatic techniques” (Janis & King, 1957, p.
211) developed for use in education programs. The goal of course, was to get
the student to see the need of a welfare state. It has been found with
techniques like these, that in many cases, the people playing roles in which
they express views that counter their own, frequently change their positions
(Janis & King, 1957).
From
these studies of forced compliance, it has been determined that dissonance
resolution can sometimes be reached by changing one’s opinions (Festinger &
Carlsmith, 1959). Interestingly, there
seems to be a relationship between the social pressure which may be exerted and
or, the amount of reward or punishment that may be offered for compliance. In
both cases, the tendency to change opinion was reduced when the
reward/punishment or social pressure rises above the minimum needed to
influence the opinion change (Festinger & Carlsmith, 1959). This suggests,
in this writer’s opinion, that people are eager to fit in, and what may really
be driving this opinion change is the need for social acceptance. These
findings could possibly have strong implications for how strongly people hold
onto their convictions.
The
next studies were referred to as the “free choice” studies (Bem, 1967 p. 193).
These experiments revolved around the idea that rejected information that was
viewed favorably, compared to accepted information that was viewed unfavorably
resulted in the dissonance felt by the individual making the choices (Bem,
1967). To reduce this dissonance the individual then makes excuses for the
positive aspects of the information he rejected, but views favorably (Bem,
1967.) Bem (1967) puts it simply by saying the individual will overemphasize,
so to say, these positive feelings to justify them. This can lead to changes in
opinion (Bem, 1967).
Schultz,
Leveill & Lepper (1999) also argue that dissonance can be reduced between
two choices by giving a higher appraisal to the alternative, while lessening
stock in the first. This will be discussed later; however, it is a perfect
explanation of cognitive dissonance in voting. Donald Trump was the alternative
because he was the unknown wild card. A non-traditional player in the paradigm
of left and right politics, whereas Hillary Clinton represented the system.
Ironically, Schultz et al (1999), point out that greater dissonance results
from the two choices being close in their desirability among the choosers. In
terms of the 2016 election cycle this would suggest that neither candidate was
desirable at any level because as this writer will demonstrate later, cognitive
dissonance is high among the voters on both sides.
The
final perspective discussed by Bem (1967) is the “exposure to information”
perspective (Bem, 1967, p. 195). Exposure to information theory revolves around
two main concepts (Bem, 1967). One, is examining the individual after being involuntarily
exposed to alternative information (Bem, 1967). Two, is an individual’s
enthusiasm in seeking out alternative information that contradicts their views,
on their own (Bem, 1967). A study conducted by Bramel (1962) suggests that from
the former perspective, there is a tendency to project feelings of dissonance
onto others to reduce it in themselves. Bramel (1962) posits the idea that this
is due to Freudian theories of defense mechanisms kicking in to protect the
ego.
As
far as the second perspective goes, Bem (1967) cites Freedman & Sears
(1965) in saying there is no conclusive evidence which suggests there is a
psychological tendency to avoid seeking information that contradicts one’s
views. While it has been found that viewers of partisan media regularly seek
out news that supports their beliefs, it is unknown if this is done to reduce
dissonance (Metzger, Hartsell & Flanigan, 2015). Metzger
et al, (2015) suggest that an alternative view is that news viewers see
those programs that support their convictions as being more credible. The
question this writer would ask is, what is the difference from a social science
perspective? If a viewer finds one source as being less credible and chooses
the other source because it is more aligned with his attitudes and worldview,
isn’t that done to reduce dissonance? Wouldn’t the exposure to the information
that is non-attitude friendly cause feelings of discomfort that would then cause
the individual to seek new information to reduce those feelings? It is important to note that there is no
conclusive evidence in cognitive dissonance in relation to selective exposure
because there have been no major studies done (Metzger et al, 2015).
Effort
Justification
Effort
justification is another aspect of cognitive dissonance that this writer finds
to be the most relevant when it comes to American politics. There are aspects
of this theory that bear a striking resemblance to some of B.F. Skinner’s ideas
concerning operant conditioning as well. It is the idea that the effort put into
achieving certain goals can serve as a dissonance reduction mechanism (Cooper
& Axsom, 1982). When an individual exerts a high level of effort to achieve
a goal that is not viewed as being worth that effort, the individual will give
the goal a higher value to justify the effort (Cooper
& Axsom, 1982). This justification of effort reduces the tension caused
by the conflicting values of the effort and the goal one is trying to achieve (Cooper
& Axsom, 1982). This is related to Festinger & Carlsmith’s (1959) ideas
on rewards/punishments for compliance or the amount of social pressure, rising
above the minimum needed to influence opinion.
Festinger
(1961) conducted an experiment with some students who were told they were going
to take a test. To sum it up simply, some were told they could use notes and
others were told they could not. They were also told that not every student
would take the test. Naturally, those who were not able to use the notes
studied harder and put more effort into the exam. They also had a higher
expectation that they were the ones who would be taking the exam; thus, placing
higher value in their efforts. Festinger (1961) also noted that often, a lack
of reward for great effort can produce misunderstood consequences. For example, he notes there is a reversal of
processes of sorts when someone exerts a great deal of effort towards some
ordinary goal. The individual will give that ordinary goal a higher value just
as if he were highly attracted to it in the first place, simply to justify the
effort.
Correlations between Operant Conditioning and
Cognitive Dissonance
How
does any of this relate to B.F. Skinner and operant conditioning? This writer
after all, did mention there are some similarities. B.F. Skinner has long been
a proponent of punishment/reward behavior modification techniques. He believed
that through environmental manipulation people’s attitudes and behaviors could
be changed. Referring to Festinger & Carlsmith’s (1959) idea of forced
compliance, it was theorized by this writer that a desire to fit in could be
enough of a motivating factor to influence someone to change their opinion.
Skinner (1973, p.91) states that people who get along together under the
perceptions of what he refers to as social approval or disapproval, are more
controlled than under a full-blown police state.
Another
point that B.F. Skinner made that relates to the idea of effort justification
is that people are easily controlled by the value of the product they support. “Those who work productively because of
the reinforcing value of what they produce are under the sensitive and powerful
control of the products” (Skinner, 1973 p. 91). This is nearly the same as Cooper & Axsom’s (1982)
description of effort justification. The individual places higher value in a
goal that was originally viewed as not being worth the effort if a great deal
of work is being put in to obtain it. In this writer’s opinion, this phenomenon
can be best explained through the facemask mandates taking place across the
country in response to the so-called, Covid-19 pandemic. There was a certain virtue attached to complying
with the mandates, despite the contradictory information being released
concerning the virus because the public was told wearing a mask will protect
others. A good example of contradictory information is the CDC backtracking
their claims that Covid is airborne (Ehley, 2020). People now believe there is
a greater good attached to wearing a mask and they are emotionally invested in
the idea that they are doing this to save humanity. The theory of effort
justification would work in this case because there is so much contradictory
information concerning the virus that it is unclear being forced to wear a mask
is worth the effort. Therefore, a higher value is placed on the virus itself, and
the damage that forced lockdowns caused to the economy, which in turn justifies
the effort in wearing masks.
Confirmation Bias
One final theory that is worth discussing in
relation to cognitive dissonance in American voters is the idea of confirmation
bias. Confirmation bias is the idea that people will generally view new
information in a way that aligns with their current beliefs (Nickerson, 1998).
Nickerson (1998) states that conformation bias occurs when one gathers evidence
to support their research that supports the beliefs they held, before
conducting the research. This is opposed to gathering evidence which also
supports an opposing view and objectively testing one against the other to see
which is true. Confirmation bias, according to Knobloch-Westerwick,
Mothes & Polavin (2017), bears the same connotations as cognitive
dissonance in the sense that attitudes are adapted to avoid psychological
discomfort in receiving new information. It has been found that American voters
will regularly seek out information that conforms to their beliefs about
candidates while ignoring information that conflicts with their views (Knobloch-Westerwick,
Mothes & Polavin, 2017). This of course, is something that goes both ways.
Confirmation bias, or cognitive dissonance for that matter, are not partisan
phenomenon but theories of human behavior that apply across the board.
Nickerson
(1998) also notes that people may treat available evidence in a biased manner
if they are motivated to defend a belief. In other words, if people are
committed to the belief because they put a lot of faith and effort in its
maintenance, they may be more likely to have a bias towards it. Nickerson
(1998) also states that people that have no emotional attachment to any type of
hypothesis may drive on in a biased manner, but claims there is nothing outside
of being partial to our own opinions that accounts for this type of behavior.
Many
of the studies conducted on confirmation bias according to Nickerson (1998)
confirm that once a person takes a particular side on any issue, or decides to
support any cause, they become rooted in that belief and committed to defending
it. This is even the case before any alternative positions have been thoroughly
examined (Nickerson, 1998). This concept can certainly be applied to partisan
politics and the support people have for their chosen candidates even though
they rarely live up to the ideals their voters believe they do. One study
focused exclusively on the beliefs about the likability and social perceptions
of a guest speaker at a college. It was found that the opinion of the speaker
was favorable, largely since there were pre-formed opinions based on what the
students had already heard about the speaker (Kelley, 1950). This could be a useful study in explaining
people’s refusal to look at the behavior of candidates that contradicts the
voter’s values.
Evaluating the evidence
This
portion of the paper will primarily focus on the events taking place in the
current political climate while attempting to apply the theories previously
discussed to the attitudes and beliefs of the American electorate. The writer
will try to evaluate the actions taken by the current president/presidential
candidates compared to the promises they have made, or the positions they hold,
and the reactions of the voters from the perspective of cognitive dissonance
and or, confirmation bias affecting the voters opinions.
The
common belief is that American politics is made up of two conflicting
ideologies which are struggling for dominance. This belief is bringing America
closer and closer to the edge of societal chaos. As noted, American society is
now more polarized on political issues than ever before (Edwards, 2017), and it
is the ideological convictions of the two main political parties that are
driving this election, as neither is particularly interested in the other’s
views (Edwards, 2017). Every election
cycle Americans are seemingly convinced they are participating in the most
important election of their lifetimes, and that a vote for their party is what
is needed to save the nation from certain doom. Ironically, Saul Alinsky (1971)
in the prologue to Rules for Radicals, stated that people can be brough
to accept change they may never have otherwise if they are hopeless about their
future. The last election cycles, Trump v. Clinton and the current one, Trump
v. Biden sum this up perfectly.
In
2016, American conservatives were feeling hopeless. It was the opinion of many
that eight years of Barrack Obama brought the country closer to socialism
(Schlesinger, 2010). The 2016 presidential election was sold to the public as
the most important in history as it was feared Hillary Clinton, who wrote her
college thesis “There is only the fight” on Saul Alinsky’s community organizing
methods, would pound the final nail in the coffin. In response, the right
rallied around Donald Trump, whom they believed was a conservative republican.
It could be theorized that conservatives were giving a higher value to Donald
Trump based on their own ideas, or what they had heard about him being
conservative. This is despite the evidence to the contrary. Schultz, Leveill & Lepper’s (1999)
assessment of dissonance reduction could be applied here in this writer’s
opinion because greater dissonance resulted from the two choices not being
completely desirable. It is this writer’s opinion that Donald Trump would never
have been an accepted conservative candidate if the republicans did not
perceive the nation to be in so much trouble at the end of Obama’s eight years.
A higher value was assigned to Trump
because the alternative, from the perspective of the republican party, had no
value so, it became an issue of Trump having to be elected to save the nation.
Praising Trump served as giving a higher value to the alternative (Schultz,
Leveill & Lepper’s 1999) because Clinton represented the system and four
more years of the same. Theoretically speaking, Republicans became so hopeless
in their future they accepted change they didn’t really understand, and they
reduced this psychological discomfort, according to Schultz,
Leveill & Lepper (1999) by placing higher moral value in Trump in order
to justify their support.
The
dissonance in voters seems to rest in their belief that we are a system of two
political parties duking it out for dominance. Both parties believe that their
respective world view reflects what is best for the nation. According to
Bolstad, Dinas & Riera (2013) cognitive dissonance plays a role in voting
from the perspective that dissonance reduction occurs as an individual’s
evaluation of their preferred party continues to grow every time they cast a
vote for them. They also noted that is a tendency that appears stronger in
voters whose party won the election (pp. 432-433), and this was something not
generally found in people who had no preference for any particular candidate
(Bolstad, et al, 2013). Furthermore, Converse (1976) noted that a voter’s party
preference is likely to be reinforced through experience and continuous voting
for that party. These ideas could be applied alongside Schultz, Leveill &
Lepper’s (1999) idea as neither Donald Trump nor Hillary Clinton reflected the
best of what the voters expected. By drawing on experience, and relating Donald
Trump to Ronald Reagan, conservative voters reduced the dissonance by placing
their faith in their experience and voted the way they did, simply because that
is the way they always vote. Also, as Bolstad et al (2013) noted, the
reinforced support for President Trump could be the result of dissonance being
reduced through the winning of the election. They have been rewarded in their
efforts of supporting Trump to the point that their support of him becomes
unbreakable.
Perhaps
the best example of cognitive dissonance in conservative voters is Donald
Trump’s actions against the second amendment. Throughout President Obama’s
eight years, and rightfully so as Democrats today promise to enact more gun
control (Godfrey, 2020), conservatives feared he would take executive action
banning certain firearms. This is theoretically, one of the reasons Donald
Trump won the conservative vote. Since being in office, President Trump has
enacted the Bump Stock ban via executive order (Savage 2018) and, shown open
support for confiscating firearms from those deemed to be a danger to
themselves or others without due process (Landers, 2018). This is known as a
red flag law. Both actions have set dangerous precedents that set the stage for
further unconstitutional actions against the second amendment.
The
Bump Stock ban, for example, violated the constitution’s expost facto law by
turning hundreds of thousands of American citizens into felons for failing to
surrender a product that was previously deemed to be perfectly legal (Sullum, 2019).
Expost facto law is the prohibition of enacting legislation that turns a once
peaceful and legal activity, into a crime (Cornell Law School). Furthermore,
the bump stock was illegally classified as a machine gun by the ATF (Sullum,
2019). Only congress can change laws, and the federal law concerning machine
guns states that a machine gun is a one pull of the trigger for continuous fire
mechanism (Sullum, 2019). Bump stocks do not even produce continuous fire under
this definition (Sullum, 2019). They simply harness the recoil, allowing the
shooter’s trigger finger to pull the trigger faster (Sullum, 2019). The weapon,
therefore, is still operating in a semi-automatic mode. The bump stock itself
does not even have a trigger of its own. Classifying an object with no trigger
as a machine gun by illegally reinterpreting existing law sets a dangerous
precedent that can possibly be acted on by any future president over any
accessory.
This
was an action that certainly caused dissonance in Trump voters. Many responded
by saying he was simply giving the gun grabbers on the left a bone. Take this
comment from Quora.com from a Trump supporter as an example of the overall
attitude towards what would probably be considered an infringement had the
Democrats done it. “I think it is a tactic to appease the liberals. You don’t
need a bump stock to bump fire a semi-auto rifle as it can be done simply by
holding the rifle in a certain way.” While this individual is correct about the
device itself, he, like many others, are not looking at the information behind
the ban and seeing the larger consequence. It could be argued under the theory
of effort justification (Cooper & Axsom, 1982) that they are
holding on to their belief that it was imperative for Trump to win, and his
victory against Hillary Clinton represented a win for the second amendment;
therefore, they will refuse to consider the possibility that the man may not be
who they thought he was. Bem’s (1967) exposure to information theory fits well
here also. This theory examines a willingness on the part of an individual to
seek out alternative information on their own and, their reaction to being involuntarily
exposed to alternative information (Bem, 1967). While there is no significant
evidence of psychologically avoiding alternative views (Freedman &
Sears 1965), there is a tendency to project the feelings of dissonance onto
others to reduce them (Bramel 1962). This is something that is definitely
occurring as questioning Trump’s ban on the device, while pointing out the
potential consequences, has gotten this writer kicked out of several pro-gun
Facebook groups and labeled as a “never Trumper.”
Red
flag laws are another issue where there is obvious dissonance occurring in
Trump voters. Red flag laws are an extremely dangerous precedent to set because
they enable family members, friends or law enforcement officials to petition a
judge to issue an extreme risk protection order against an individual who is
deemed to be a threat (Williams, 2019). The individual in question does not
have to be charged with a crime to have an order filed against them. Someone
simply must suggest they may be a danger to themselves or others and have
knowledge they possess firearms. Red flag laws, therefore, deny an individual
their due process protection (Williams, 2019). Donald Trump, on live
television, sitting with known anti-gun Senators like Diane Feinstein publicly
stated his support for red flag laws by saying “Take the guns first, got
through due process second” (Jackson, Shesgreen & Gaudiano, 2018). Trump
also stated that he believed Republican congressman were “petrified of the NRA”
while calling on congress to come up with a gun control bill (Jackson,
Shesgreen & Gaudiano, 2018). One policy proposal that conservatives were
willingly awaiting was a national conceal carry bill. This, according to
Jackson, Shesgreen & Gaudiano (2018) was crushed in the same meeting.
Here we have Donald Trump, whom the
conservative base, most of which are gun owners, is rallying around under the
belief that he will save the second amendment. In his own book, The America
We Deserve, he states that he supports a ban on assault weapons and longer
waiting periods to purchase a firearm (p. 102). Still, countless articles
appear in social media, along with memes on Facebook, which depict Donald Trump
as a second amendment warrior and, failing to vote for him spells certain doom
for gun rights. Which it could; however, they appear to be doomed either way. This
writer believes that Thibodeau & Aronson’s (1992) self-consistency model of
cognitive dissonance applies here. Donald Trump loyalists are defending their
support for him out of fear of realizing their own incompetency in judging him
for who he was. They need to maintain the belief that their choice to support
him was the correct one not for his sake, but for the maintenance of their own
self-esteem (Stone & Cooper, 2000). The theory of effort justification (Cooper
& Axsom, 1982) also works because there was so much hope in Donald Trump,
and there still is, of being the one to return America to greatness that no one
wants to face the possibility he will support policies opposed by his voters.
While
gun control marks a huge policy issue that causes dissonance in conservative
voters, it is not the only one. There are several others where Donald Trump
supporters refuse to review available evidence suggesting the actions of their
president directly contradict their values, and the things they believe he is
doing. The debt is another example. Conservative are concerned with sound
fiscal policy and Donald Trump has increased the national debt by 5.2 trillion
dollars (Rodriguez, 2010). This is about the same rate that the debt grew under
Obama as he also spent 5 trillion in his first three years in office
(Rodriguez, 2020). Conservatives by and large, ignore this information. The
theory of confirmation bias could fit here, in this writer’s opinion, as voters
have attached themselves to the belief that voting for Trump was necessary to
end spending. There has been a nonstop slew of propaganda from talking heads
such as Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh discussing how great the economy is
doing without mentioning the increase in the debt. Voters, therefore, attach
themselves to this belief and defend it (Nickerson, 1998) while ignoring any
evidence to the contrary. Nickerson (1998) argued that people would often
defend their position when committed to a belief before even looking at any
other position.
Cognitive
dissonance exists in Democrat voters as well. This writer focused a great deal
on Trump voters because as a conservative Republican who voted for Trump, he
believes it is imperative to the cause of liberty that you question the person
you voted for. One of the major issues of dissonance for Democrat voters lie in
the issues of systematic racism and disproportionate rates of incarceration.
Joe Biden is running his presidential campaign on the promise of ending it;
however, he helped write the bill that arguably, contributed to it in the first
place (Purdom, 2019). A bill no less signed by a Democrat president. There is
some question as to what extent the bill itself contributed to larger
incarcerations (Lopez, 2020) however, it is clear that at the time Biden
supported measures that were tough on crime and the bill granted states the
necessary money to enact tougher criminal reform penalties (Lopez, 2020). It has
been argued that these penalties disproportionally led to higher rates of
incarceration for minorities (Lopez, 2020). Biden has also been exposed recently for
something he said back in 1977 which indicates he was a supporter of
segregation (Alic, 2019). According to Alic, (2019) Biden, a first term senator
expressed concern of his children growing up in what he called, a racial jungle,
over a desegregation issue concerning bussing. Furthermore, Biden’s latest gaff
on live television where he said, “If you have a problem figuring out if you’re
for me or Trump, then you ain’t black” shows his deep rooted racism (Bradner,
Mucha & Saenz, 2010). Despite these inconsistencies, Democrat voters seem
to believe that Biden best represents, and will fight for, racial equality. This
election proves that voters are committed to the party despite blaring
contradictions between promises and policies.
Final Discussion
Cognitive
dissonance is the theory that explains contradictions between people’s beliefs
and their behaviors (Festinger, 1957). This paper examined the different
theories of cognitive dissonance by exploring the beliefs of, mostly
conservative voters, and the promises made by the current Republican president,
Donald Trump. Support remains high for President Trump among his voters despite
the obvious contradictions between their values and the policy issues he has
pushed. Particularly concerning the second amendment and spending. In this
writer’s opinion Donald Trump is pushing the same policy items, especially
concerning gun control, that would have been pursued by a Democrat president.
This paper showed the potential consequences, for example, of the bump stock
ban and red flag laws, and how they damage the constitutional protection of natural
rights and how the general response is that the President is enacting some kind
of strategy to discredit the Democrats. In this writer’s opinion, cognitive
dissonance is occurring in voters across the political spectrum. Every four
years Americans become fiercely committed to their chosen political candidates
because they believe those candidates best reflect their values and convictions
(Fiorina, 1981). Closely examining the actions of both parties, however,
suggests that they are working together in many ways. Take the debt for
example, Donald Trump increased it by 5 trillion, as did Obama (Rodriguez,
2020). The spending of other people’s money seems to be something that Republicans
and Democrats agree on. It is also hard to imagine that Democrats who are
supportive of gun control would disagree with the actions Trump has taken,
except to the extent that perhaps they do not go far enough, fast enough. In
this writer’s opinion, the greatest level of cognitive dissonance exists in the
belief that there is two political party’s opposing one another when in fact,
they are working together to achieve the larger policy objectives they agree on.
The argument that the two parties should
represent opposed ideals and policies... is a foolish idea. Instead, the two
parties should be almost identical, so that the American people can throw the
rascals out at any election without leading to any profound or extensive shifts
in policy. Then it should be possible to replace it, every four years if
necessary, by the other party which will be none of these things but will still
pursue, with new vigor, approximately the same basic policies. (Quigley, 1966,
p. 1247)
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