title: [How our subjective coherence is built? The model of cognitive dissonance].
abstract: Our conscious, subjective discourse, demonstrates a temporal coherence that distinguishes it from the many unconscious cognitive representations explored by cognitive neuroscience. This subjective coherence, --particularly its dynamics--can be modified in certain psychiatric syndromes including a " dissociative state " (e.g. schizophrenia), or in several neuropsychiatric disorders (e.g. frontal lobe syndrome). The medical and environmental consequences of these changes are significant. However, the psychological and neural mechanisms of this fundamental property remain largely unknown. We explored the dynamics of subjective coherence in an experimental paradigm (the "free choice "paradigm) originating for the field of cognitive dissonance. Using a series of behavioral experiments, conducted in healthy volunteers, we have discovered a key role for the episodic memory in the preference change process when simply making a choice. These results highlight the importance of conscious memory in the construction of subjective consistency, of which the subjects do not yet seem to be the conscious agents.
authors.forename: Lionel
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Naccache
authors.forename: Imen
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: El Karoui
authors.forename: Moti
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Salti
authors.forename: Mariam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chammat
authors.forename: Mathurin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Maillet
authors.forename: Sébastien
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Allali
mesh_terms: D003073:Cognitive Dissonance; D006801:Humans; D008960:Models, Psychological