Here is a fascinating experiment involving split-brain patients, whose left brain cannot communicate with the right brain.
Whenever we see something on the left side, the visual signal goes to the right brain and vice versa. Normally, the left and right brains communicate but not so in split-brain patients.
So in an experiment, a split-brain patient was shown a prompt on the left side, encouraging him to scratch his hand. This information went to the right side and he did scratch his hand. But his left brain had no idea of this.
Then, the experiementers asked the brain’s left hemisphere why he scratched his hand. You would expect the answer – “I have no idea.” Right?
Instead, the left brain answered, I scratched because I was feeling an itch.
There was NO itch. The brain just made it up.
Our brain hates cognitive dissonance and finds a way to explain all our actions.
Many our actions are driven by our unconscious brain and we subsequently rationalize them. If I am prejudiced against people of a certain religion or ethnic group, my negative reaction will be triggered non-consciously. And then I will rationalize my action, probably by cherry-picking data.
E.g., if a person of religion A murders a person of religion B, I blame religion A. But vice-versa, I just blame the person.
I suspect, this desire to avoid cognitive dissonance is how prejudice and hate are sustained.
Nobody is above this – this is human nature. But once we are aware, we can train our minds to step outside these unconscious biases.
That is how you become a good human being.
– Rajan