Mental Compartmentalization
I was watching an interview with a white nationalist, who described the freedom the Confederates had to own slaves that were taken away from them. When asked what it was that was taken away from them, he described it as freedom from 'tyranny' imposed by the north. Then he was asked if slavery is a form of tyranny, upon which the cricketing of crickets ensued.
I'm led to believe that this is a typical case of mental compartmentalization, a somewhat fancy word for saying that people want to maintain a confirmation bias in spite of contrary evidence, or an elaborate way of avoiding cognitive dissonance.
In psychology, according to Wiki, it's a subconscious defense mechanism or phenomenon that occurs to prevent cognitive dissonance. I was wondering if people can unlearn their compartmentalization habits, and how one would do so? What I'm wondering here, is how does compartmentalization occur, also?
I'm led to believe that this has to be one of the most troubling of cognitive distortions. It is, in a sense, a metaphysical mental construct that presents the world in a certain way, that is prone to all the other cognitive distortions of the world that can occur.
I'm led to believe that this is a typical case of mental compartmentalization, a somewhat fancy word for saying that people want to maintain a confirmation bias in spite of contrary evidence, or an elaborate way of avoiding cognitive dissonance.
In psychology, according to Wiki, it's a subconscious defense mechanism or phenomenon that occurs to prevent cognitive dissonance. I was wondering if people can unlearn their compartmentalization habits, and how one would do so? What I'm wondering here, is how does compartmentalization occur, also?
I'm led to believe that this has to be one of the most troubling of cognitive distortions. It is, in a sense, a metaphysical mental construct that presents the world in a certain way, that is prone to all the other cognitive distortions of the world that can occur.
Comments (10)
Does one build the compartments or does one merely fail to build the generalised coherence?
The white nationalist would seem to be the standard thing of back-filling a justification for your actions or attitudes by constructing some story. So you inherit a prejudice from your social context and then explain it whatever way you can get away with.
It is like setting up a small defensive encampment wherever you find yourself with whatever is at hand. Bricolage.
The tougher thing would be to be completely systematic in your thinking - to assimilate everything to a thought-through universal structure.
So it is not that people have to construct a lack of coherent connections. They just get away with not having to live life according to a generally coherent philosophical position.
I don't know. Interesting questions though.
Quoting apokrisis
Yes, how do you achieve that systematic whole without having to resort to the compartmentalization of concepts or things?
Quoting apokrisis
So, you think it's a matter of performative utility to resort to compartmentalizations of concepts or things?
An interesting failure of compartmentalization is found in the sentence:
It is raining.
Where is the subject in that sentence?
Not sure that you got my point. People don't build a city if they only mean to camp the night.
Was your OP describing someone who had systematically compartmentalised their rationalisations so as to avoid the logical inconsistencies involved? That would take a lot of prior work.
Or did they camp on the edge of a pleasant stream and wake the next morning to find it had become a swamping flood? Was there never a compartment and only a hurried packing up the prejudices to go enjoy them somewhere else less challenging?
Folk who don't like their inconsistencies being fingered just tend to check out because they were never trying to defend some larger coherent territory anyway. Being comfortable is the first priority.
Is that even possible, is what I'm asking? Can you check to see if you're beliefs are inconsistent with reality? Am, I just talking about scientism here?
Quoting apokrisis
In the case of the white nationalist, I think it was just a matter of prejudice getting in the way of reality. His beliefs are simply at odds with the majority of people, and hence his mind is compartmentalized in such a way that it shows when talking about slavery or races.
Quoting apokrisis
So, it's a matter of inconsistencies? In respect to what a compartmentalized mind is inconsistent towards? The world, reality, truth?
Surely his beliefs are those of the majority with whom he mixes? That's why compartmentalisation hasn't been much needed as a psychic defence.
Not sure about that. It could be bias.
That racist guy is just stupid, by choice (he's blinded himself to the truth). His inability to answer the question proves he doesn't have that compartment. If he truly believed (instead of just wishing) that white people were superior to black people (or other races) then it would have been somewhat convincing towards a case of compartmentalisation.
Quoting apokrisis
Yes. It's more a case of shared stupidity.
Quoting Posty McPostface
It is (personal bias).
I see compartments as constructs with deep-rooted ties of logic (reasonable associations, but according to the person's capacity to reason) and meaning extracted from experience; every compartment with its history of experiences attached to it, whether real (actual) or fabricated (delusional).
Also, from my perspective, it is not compartmentalisation if the 'compartments' do not relate to each other logically. If the person, when focused in one compartment, is not (or cannot be) aware of the others, consciously to some degree, then, it's insanity (an impairment of the mind).
For me, compartmentalisation is, 'when in rome do as the romans do'. It is a distinctive language for each person, occasion or circumstance; not something a serial killer would have to prevent him from coming to terms with his depravity. Even the latter is a kind of compartmentalisation, but it's a coping mechanism born from reaction or response to an impairment (disease) of the mind (as a way to preserve decency, normalcy, right-perspective, etc). It implies an innate awareness of the presence of the disease.
So, it is the truth that is being suppressed here? The truth of what exactly? That he's a bigoted racist?
Quoting BrianW
Compartment of what?
Quoting BrianW
I think no cognitive dissonance occurred in his mind. It seems to be straight up compartmentalization of some kind.
Quoting BrianW
Sounds about right. I don't think compartmentalization only serves as a defense mechanism. It could be implemented in different sorts of situations also.
Quoting BrianW
That's where we differ. I think in the case of the white nationalist, some compartmentalization accords or (in this case) is in discord with one's perception of oneself. It's just that he doesn't experience cognitive dissonance due to the level of compartmentalization taking place in his mind.
Quoting BrianW
Interesting that you put it that way. Typically, insanity or psychosis of some form results in the abberation of compartmentalizations that one has. Every-thing becomes endowed with significance or meaning.
Quoting BrianW
What is that disease?
The truth that his racist perspective is not born of reason and has not yet settled as a component of belief.
Quoting Posty McPostface
The compartment which would characterize his perspective as something he believes in. Even people who believe in what they cannot prove know in what form their beliefs exist in and usually have no problem expressing them even in their own words. That guy's silence tells otherwise.
Quoting Posty McPostface
Serial killer = psychopathy, perhaps.