Title: Mistakes were made (but not by me) : why we justify foolish beliefs, bad decisions, and hurtful acts /
Authors: Tavris, Carol; Aronson, Elliot
Publisher: Harcourt,
Year: 2008
Subjects: Cognitive dissonance.; Self-deception.
Abstract: Two distinguished psychologists look at the role of self-justification in human life, explaining how and why we create fictions that absolve us of responsibility and restore our belief in our intelligence, moral rectitude, and correctness; assess the potential repercussions of such a course of action; and reveal how it can be overcome.
Contents: Knaves, fools, villains and hypocrites : how do they live with themselves? -- Cognitive dissonance : the engine of self-justification -- Pride and prejudice-- and other blind spots -- Memory, the self-justifying historian -- Good intentions, bad science : the closed loop of clinical judgment -- Law and disorder -- Love's assassin : self-justification in marriage -- Wounds, rifts, and wars -- Letting go and owning up.