ABSTRACT
This chapter examines some of the cognitive mechanisms that impair our ability to learn, particularly those by which our beliefs are preserved in the face of disconfirming evidence. Cognitive inertia is construed as a sort of mental gravity that preserves our beliefs and impedes their change. The cohesive force of schemas and other cognitive structures, and how they resist change, was a recurrent theme in the work of Jean Piaget. The structure of each belief imposes limits on the types and amounts of information that may be accommodated without rupturing that belief. In general, the reduced likelihood of belief change under automatic processes is consistent with several empirical studies and theoretical perspectives. Beta reactions are more effortful and tend to incompletely reconcile novel stimuli with preexisting beliefs. Gamma reactions are characterized by the complete integration of novel information into one’s belief network, though it is also the most effortful.
