Hate Through the Lens of Cognitive Dissonance

This paper introduces the contribution of cognitive dissonance theory to deepening our understanding of hate. It is argued that the dissonance mechanism is at the basis of inner conflict and other experiences of people who hate. A systematic approach is taken, and the detailed analysis is a novel contribution to the field. Three main points are made using examples. In the first place, the emergence of hate can be understood in terms of an aversive inconsistency or dissonance between experiences with or perceptions of people who threaten salient values, interests or expectations. In the second place, dissonance theory explains hate as motivating hateful actions to reduce the inconsistency but also that dissonance regulation and management strategies are an integral part of the complex nature of hate. This includes attitude change, justifications, adding consonant thoughts, trivialisation, denial, seeking distraction or disengaging. In the third place, the dissonance mechanism explains persistent inner conflict in the person who experiences prolonged hate and a preoccupation with efforts to reduce the associated burden. Hate is increasingly addressed in an interdisciplinary fashion in the scholarly literature. It is concluded that addressing hate through the lens of cognitive dissonance theory enhances our understanding of its complexities. The authors have engaged with this as initiators of the NETHATE research consortium. This paper is intended to further advance this process by promoting discussion and suggesting avenues for the integration of the dissonance mechanism in current models of hate, such as the functional perspective, evolutionary approach and various typologies.