"THE CHRISTCHURCH STAR"

Christchurch, New Zealand.

Friday, 7 Nov 2001.

Page B3

Book packed with fact

Sir - E Watson says that the title of A City Possessed is too strong a generalisation, because the book is opinion (October 24).

But it is not: it is packed with facts. Instead, I think what some people reading it may be experiencing, is cognitive dissonance (Basic Psychology, Henry Gleitman, Norton 1983).

This is a state produced in people when their previously held beliefs are subject to forms of disconfirmation.

This should lead the persons to face the discordant content, and to abandon the beliefs.

But, according to the source, what can happen may be otherwise.

To abandon the belief that bizarre events happened around the creche, that is to accept that they didn’t, a person who once held that belief would have to accept a painful dissonance between their present knowledge and their past beliefs and actions.

The disharmony may be awkward, but we must do what we can to face it.

Lynley Hood carefully reveals trends and events relevant to the case, and details of court proceedings. Only some of us are directly affected by the subject, but integrating what happened, although it will be difficult, is important not only for these people, I believe, but also for the city and the society. -- N. SUTHERLAND.