Elliot Aronson is one of the preeminent psychologists of the 20th century — his mentors were Abraham Maslow and Leon Festinger, and his award-winning psychology textbooks are seminal even for non-psychologists. Adam asks Elliot about his pioneering work on making mistakes and cognitive dissonance, or the discomfort we feel when we realize that our attitudes or actions contradict our values. Then, the two discuss the dangers (and upsides) of rationalizing our beliefs — and strategies for making better decisions while keeping an open mind. Transcripts for ReThinking are available at go.ted.com/RWAGscripts

For the full text transcript, visit ted.com/podcasts/worklife/worklife-with-adam-grant-transcripts

Want to help shape TED’s shows going forward? Fill out our survey!

Learn more about TED Next at ted.com/futureyou

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.