Identification Conflict

Check out this article from the Guardian

So what is the underlying psychological process going on here from the perspective of ISA and how could be picked it apart with a ipseus instrument.

There are two aspects at work. First, how do you evaluate someone, including yourself? Do you evaluate positively or negatively? Second, how much do you see of yourself in the other person?

You can share attributes that you deem negative with someone else, even though you evaluate the other positively. This is part of an identification conflict.

What's going on in that ad though is the other type of identification conflict. They are trying to link a shared attribute that would generally be deemed positive with someone who would generally be evaluated negatively.

To resolve the identification conflict you can either change your mind on which side of the fence you deem positive, which is unlikely if that attribute spectrum is backed with a strong conviction.

Alternatively, you can accept that the world is not black & white, that there is some bad in good people & some good in bad people, and not let silly emotional advertising like this have any effect.

I should invoke Godwin's rule now and mention Hitler and atheism in the same sentence now, but I won't :-)



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