Cognitive Dissonance in Family Law

By Morgan Smith, Paralegal, Miles Mason Family Law Group, PLC

Morgan Smith

Cognitive Dissonance is a unique theory that occurs when one’s ideas, beliefs, or behaviors are contradictory.  By understanding both one’s self and any challenges to that sense of self, managing cognitive dissonance becomes a much easier task. After realizing one’s strengths and weaknesses, an individual can better develop a decision-making process which promotes both time management and critical thinking.

Humans naturally tend to dismiss instances of cognitive dissonance through justification of an event. For instance, those who “cheat” on their strict diet may feel bad about breaking their plan but will often justify their action by saying “one muffin won’t hurt.” When an individual encounters periods of cognitive dissonance, they will attempt to resolve the conflict.  Thus, the ideas of time management and critical thinking are born. In order to become skilled in time management, an individual must first discover which needs must be immediately addressed. From here, the trickle-down effect will follow. This means that once the most important tasks are realized, those of less significant importance will soon follow.

Cognitive dissonance develops as an individual adapts to become the most efficient version of themselves. It is the innate understanding and balancing of importance and immediacy in a given task or situation. If everything is important, and needs to be completed immediately – how does one do anything?  By realizing one’s self through instances of cognitive dissonance, an individual is more likely to become successful at differentiating those tasks and feelings that are unavoidable, from those that require less attention. Moreover, by becoming aware of the impacts of succumbing to periods of cognitive dissonance, one becomes better equipped to tackle both professional and social situations. By taking initiative over one’s fluctuating thoughts, an individual becomes more capable of overcoming moments of discomfort. In turn, that individual becomes better at determining what must be done now as opposed to what can be done later, despite their beliefs about any given situation. This ability to achieve and overcome obstacles makes an individual better equipped to persevere in most atmospheres.

Mason comment: In family law, we see this sort of tension in many aspects of strategic considerations in decision-making.  To be more effective in our representation, we seek to navigate difficult situations in this crazy world.  In a sense, practicing family law requires exploring the fine line between what we know to be true and what we believe can be true.  In that exploration, over time, we hope to gain wisdom and improve our skills to help our clients make better decisions.  Thank you, Morgan Smith, for sharing this with us.