Mistakes were made(But not by me) by Carol Tavris and Elliot Aronson

Mistakes were made(But not by me) by Carol Tavris and Elliot Aronson

-       Doubt is not the enemy of justice; overconfidence is.

Mistakes were made is a social psychological work coauthored by two eminent contemporary psychologists who are proponents of the theory of dissonance, a more formal version of which has been explored in Elliot Aronson’s ‘The social animal’. Though reading ‘The social animal’ is not necessary for cursory understanding of this book, I think interpreting ‘Mistakes were made’ in the light of the experiments given in ‘the social animal’ would give reader a more neutral perspective towards this work.

The book ‘Mistakes were made’ tries to resonate the message that people make mistakes and refuse to admit them, not because they are lying but because they are deluded by the acts of self justification that is spawned in their mental apparatus to reduce dissonance between their self image (of a smart, decent, human being) and their erroneous actions. The book is written keeping a specific kind of reader in mind: who appreciates sarcasm, humor, emotions and no mumbo jumbo language. I think that I would have preferred a more neutral , scientifically written work. Though the authors assert that people should not be overconfident in their hypotheses (on account of confirmation bias), they are found asserting vehemently that other authors are wrong. Notwithstanding this meta-erroneous nature of this work, the theories and experimental support given in it clearly distinguish it from a self-help book. In fact, personal relationships are treated the same as relationships between nations, and relationships between perpetrator and victim- under the lens of dissonance. The authors do not give a vague explanation of why things transcend. They take solid historical examples that the whole world saw, and attempt to reinterpret them in the wake of theory of dissonance. They do not try to form a closed Freudian loop of argument. They do not make unfalsifiable claims. They do not promulgate propaganda. What they give are excellent metaphors, logically consistent assertions and conclusions; and a great weekend read.