Conflict of Text Interpretations as a Consequence of Cognitive Dissonance in Internet Disputes

Abstract

Latent cognitive dissonance in Internet disputers manifests itself as a conflict of text interpretations. This cognitive interpretation process of pre-textual cognitive dissonance often results in aggressive comments. The author analyzed interpretive Internet texts (comments) to reveal the cognitive patterns and prove the effect of pre-textual, i.e., cognitive, dissonance on the language and content of Internet comments. Addressee's external interpretive activity, represented in the text, is determined by internal cognitive processes, i.e., pre-textual presumptions and expectations. The study was based on the article entitled The people are multiplying "on earth", which was posted on a Runet information network resource on January 30, 2023. The article, which featured national demographic problems and possible solutions, yielded 189 comments that clearly illustrated the mechanism of conflict of interpretations. The methods of content and intent analyses revealed two cognitive patterns: the first one correlated with the intentional content of the trigger-text whereas the second pattern did not. Both patterns covered a number of cognitive models. The original text, subjectively interpreted by the addressee, triggered a wide range of comments that followed various cognitive patterns. As a result, the discussion unfolded as a conflict scenario, i.e., a struggle of attitudes and opinions, determined by the pre-textual cognitive dissonance of the disputers.