The Autistic Collaboration Trust has been active in researching cultural and psychological safety from an intersectional perspective. We now explore the level of cognitive dissonance that is generated by the societies that people are embedded in. You are invited to contribute! The results of this research will inform the education services we provide to healthcare professionals and education providers.
As part of the overarching research theme How (the lack of) diversity in the way we collectively think about the future shapes the futures that are (im)possible this project explores the subconscious ideological roots of modern industrialised society and the emotional impact of the modern human predicament.
Cognitive dissonance surfaces whenever human emotional limits are reached. The catch is that those humans who are capable of considering themselves to be culturally well adjusted have a capacity for maintaining cognitive dissonance that seems nearly unlimited from an Autistic perspective.
As pointed out in earlier articles, the discipline of economics and the modern belief in the invisible hand are best understood as the foundational beliefs of a cult. More and more people are reaching this conclusion.
In case you remain skeptical and prefer to think of the discipline of financial economics as a social science, the following short talk by John Seed may help you to see the many dogmatic assumptions that are baked into the modern economic discipline. John Seed advocates to replace the religion of economics with a spiritual movement based on the sanctity of the living planet:
Contribute your lived experience to our participatory research
You and your friends and colleagues can greatly assist our research by filling in our 8-minute anonymous survey on cognitive dissonance. Many thanks for your participation!
The survey explores 21 social scenarios. For each scenario you are asked to think about the following questions
- How do you feel?
- How does society expect you to feel?
- How do your friends expect you to feel?
- How does your life partner expect you to feel?
and choose one of the following answers
- Really bad
- Somewhat bad
- Neutral
- Somewhat good
- Really good
- Could not do this (for example due to ethical concerns)
- Not applicable
The above survey design is new. If you have any questions regarding the survey, or have suggestions for improving the survey, please leave a comment. All feedback is appreciated.
As with all our participatory research, the results will be published via AutCollab.org, and will inform the education services we provide to healthcare professionals and education providers.
Are you able to identify the biggest source of cognitive dissonance in your life? If so, what is it?
Initial answers to this question provide a window into the social world generated by the institutional landscape of modernity. Most of the responses to date are from participants who identify as neurodivergent:
The fact that I am as highly educated as I am and that my skills are so undervalued in a capitalist economy and that I have so little idea how to market myself or make a living in a way that is consistent with my values. How much shame I have around the fact that I depend financially on my elderly parents because I am raising an ND child by myself and parenting has been so hard for me that I have not been able to work in years. That my value as a person is so tied to being able to be productive in a capitalist economy and all the inner work I do and have done throughout my life, and all I do to support my child, counts for nothing.
I don’t really do cognitive dissonance. I’m wide open to myself and the world. It sucks.
I feel bad (because I have been programmed to by my family and society) for being on disability benefits though I strongly believe that basic income and life necessities should be provided to all regardless of their ability to work in the capitalist workforce.
Sometimes, when it becomes ‘obvious’. Right now, I’m working for the main organization in my country that claims to represent autistic people, but it is not autistic-led… I got here with the idea to change things from the inside as the only autistic activist and advocate… Knowing I might fail, I have to accept being misjudged and many things I know go against my values and dehumanize who I am. Being silent because violence and trauma and wanting to scream all the time because I want others to know the truth about this organization.
I don’t think I have much. I live pretty true to my identity and values and anything from society/others that doesn’t reflect those I keep externalised and boundaried. I’m fortunate there are not ways in my life I have to go against myself. I can walk my talk in all areas of life.
As important as trust is in relationships, my behavior is more on the side of mistrust.
Every day I deal with people who get a larger share of the values they assign to activities, events, people, and customs from what is expected by their social circle and political context than I sense that I do. I see money, jobs, consumerism, and social media groupthink as constructs that serve impersonal systems at the expense of communal connections and individual autonomy.
Ableism. Classism.
In the future, I will die. It will probably be painful and frightening. There will also be times when I will feel that I have failed at some moral obligation, and that will be hellish. But I go through life very lazily and mostly by conforming to comfortable habits instead of by always striving to be my best self and have a good meaningful life.
Sometimes I need help and I don’t feel like I can ask for it. I feel there is a lot of social stigma around having different or extra needs.
Being alive.
Wanting to trust others and feeling I need to protect myself.
New purchases and wanting to beautify my wardrobe and home vs discarding old items and how those discarded items affect the environment. I try to donate, resell, or recycle to quell the feelings of discomfort I have with consumerism. I also drive a luxury SUV which I enjoy and feel I deserve, but I do have to quell feelings of materialism and consumerism to enjoy it.
Definitely! The distance between what society expects me to feel and how I actually feel, less so what my friends and life partners expect me to feel. These days it is mainly the sense of shame I am supposed to feel at needing assistance with my basic needs and daily living. But in truth I don’t feel shame! I feel the effects of others’ shame, but I genuinely feel that we all are interconnected and that we will all need help at some point or the other. Note: 1. By society I also include “birth family”, who loom large in my life. 2. Also, I found myself shrugging a lot, like “I don’t know how society expects me to feel” or also like I don’t care what society expects me to feel (Something I imagine many other ND people face). 3. I would also add that I have caste privilege in the country I live in.
I find it harder to ask for help than expected by others. I get more joy out of providing help than might be expected by others.
Feeling useless and worthless for not having capitalistic value as a disabled person, when I believe that everyone has an inherent right to live a comfortable life with all of their needs met.
Reducing cognitive dissonance, catalysing intersectional solidarity
You can join us with your research ideas – and anything else you might want to discuss – at the NeurodiVerse Days of Intersectional Solidarity July 2024.
There is an urgent need to catalyse intersectional neurodiverse and indigenous ecologies of care all over the world. Neurodivergent, indigenous, and otherwise marginalised people depend on each other in ways that differ from the cultural norm – and that is pathologised in hypernormative societies. The endless chains of trauma must be broken.
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- Autistic human animals – a factor in cultural metamorphosis - November 27, 2024
- The ability to relate deeply is the inability to conduct transactional busyness - November 22, 2024
14 Responses
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Cognitive dissonance, especially when it comes to societal expectations versus personal values, can Stimulation Clicker create immense emotional strain, as seen in the experiences shared in this article.
This article resonates deeply—especially the insights on emotional labor and the invisible cost of maintaining “normalcy” in neurotypical societies. The term hoeflation comes to mind here: the inflation of emotional or social expectations placed on marginalized individuals just to be seen as “functional.” It’s a concept worth integrating into these conversations around cognitive dissonance and cultural safety.
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It’s fascinating to see how collective dissonance shapes not only our values but the systems we build around them. I’ve been thinking a lot about how small, intentional actions can restore a sense of alignment — especially when they connect purpose with practical impact.
For instance, I recently came across Happen Ventures
, a platform that helps companies reduce waste by donating unused goods to communities in need. It’s a beautiful example of how rethinking “business as usual” can turn cognitive dissonance — like the guilt around consumerism or overproduction — into something genuinely restorative.
Maybe the key is not escaping dissonance but transforming it into action that actually feels congruent with our values. https://happenventures.com/