People experiencing cognitive dissonance often avoid or reinterpret contradictory information rather than abandoning their beliefs when confronted with truth.

Evidence

Festinger’s Law (Think Insights)

Categorization

• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim
• XREF: connects to: A deliberately insulated peace can be shattered instantly by a single intrusive truth — Julien Gracq, Balcony in the Forest, 88; Willful ignorance is the deliberate avoidance of relevant information because the truth would be uncomfortable or would create pressure to act. — Willful blindness; Denial temporarily shields people from unbearable truth like a cast on a broken limb, but this protective peace is fragile if left unaddressed. — The Power of Denial: How One of Our Strongest Defense Mechanisms Shapes Reality (+19 more)

Related

• Cognitive dissonance resolves primarily to protect self-worth, not truth (similarity 0.81)
• Willful ignorance is the deliberate avoidance of relevant information because the truth would be uncomfortable or would create pressure to act. (similarity 0.81)
• Judgmental attitudes can hinder understanding of faith. (similarity 0.80)
• Denial temporarily shields people from unbearable truth like a cast on a broken limb, but this protective peace is fragile if left unaddressed. (similarity 0.80)

Broader Connections

• Denial about moral panics occurs in multiple forms. #exemplifies (0.75) — Cohen, Stanley, Folk devils and moral panics, 125
• The brain prioritizes threatening information, which explains why negative Muslim stereotypes persist despite counter-evidence #expands (0.75) — Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Introduction to…, 662
• People unconsciously avoid confronting evidence that contradicts their sense of safety #expands (0.70) — Julien Gracq, Balcony in the Forest, 229
• Self-deception requires precise knowledge of the truth being concealed, not ignorance #corroborates (0.70) — Ann Laura Stoler, Along the Archival Grain_ Epistemic…, 1397
• Sincerity can be an active ingredient of self-deception rather than its opposite #expands (0.65) — Ann Laura Stoler, Along the Archival Grain_ Epistemic…, 1405