When Convictions Collide?

Why You Can Believe One Day and Reject It the Next?

Imagine telling someone a week ago that you're committed to monogamy, but today you're questioning that belief. Or being certain your political ideology defines you-until a new perspective shifts the foundation of your worldview. Humans are surprising in this way: convictions-our sense of “rightness”-can morph rapidly across contexts such as politics, love, work, and identity.

Why does this happen? In this article, we'll delve into the psychology of conviction, explore how beliefs transform, and offer compelling real-life and research-backed examples.

What Makes a Conviction… Conviction?

Convictions are not fleeting opinions; they represent deep commitments-not just to ideas, but to our identity. As IAI underscores:

“Convictions reflect…our self-identity… They become part of the landscape, our frame of reference, our 'picture of the world.'”

Changing them means reshaping who you aspire to be. That is unsettling-confronting core aspects of self.

Cognitive Barriers: Dissonance, Inertia, and Reactance

Cognitive Dissonance

When convictions clash with new realities or data, we feel internal tension-dissonance-that the mind resists resolving. In politics, this dissonance tends to reinforce beliefs rather than alter them.

Belief Perseverance & Backfire Effects

Even direct contradictions rarely shift conviction. Instead, people often double down-a “backfire” where counterevidence strengthens the original belief. 

Psychological Reactance / Boomerang Effect

Pushing too hard to change someone’s beliefs can provoke opposition stronger than before. The inherent desire for agency triggers a defensive counter-response.

Role of Social Forces: Groups, Norms, and Polarization

Moral Crush-Proof Beliefs

When beliefs are moralized, they become nonnegotiable. Think of someone whose identity is tied to a cause-they resist compromises that supposedly betray their values.

Group Polarization

Surrounding yourself with like-minded people reinforces and radicalizes initial convictions. A moderate stance within a homogeneous group can quickly evolve into extremism.

Spiral of Silence

Social pressure can suppress differing views, even if internally held, imprinting a false consensus and masking personal doubts.

Real-Life Flip-Flops: When Beliefs and Love Collide

Politics & Family Ties

It’s no longer rare for siblings to disagree vehemently on politics. Even foundational relationships strain over ideological shifts.

Marriage and Core Values

A couple may believe in transparency but later clash over boundaries or religion. As recent relationship research stresses, alignment on trust, communication, religion, and respect is crucial-and shifts in these can jeopardize the bond.

Work and Identity Realignment

An ambitious professional who believed innovation meant stiff competition might later value impact or creativity. Changing jobs, cultures, or personal priorities can recalibrate workplace convictions overnight.

When Convictions Shift-Fast

Induced Perspective Shifts

In one experiment, conservatives who spent time in economically deprived Scottish estates developed empathy and launched social programs. Real-life exposure reshaped convictions rapidly.

Identity & Social Roles

Becoming a parent, caregiver, or community leader can reshape moral codes and convictions-sometimes reversing prior beliefs about lifestyle, health, or politics.

Convictions Under Life Stress

Major illness, conflict, or spiritual awakening can disrupt the self. A firm conviction may fall away, replaced by purpose-driven empathy or existential reorientation.

Brain Behind the Belief

USC brain scans showed that when liberal–leaning participants’ political beliefs were challenged, the areas associated with threat and identity lit up. It’s not logic that drives these beliefs-it’s emotional survival. 

Narrative, Identity, and the Power to Rewrite Ourselves

At the core, human convictions are stories we tell ourselves: “This is who I am.” Changing these means rewriting identity:

• Constructing a new narrative-such as viewing divorce as liberation-can make old beliefs obsolete.
• Therapeutic modification-actively journaling beliefs and reinforcing new ones-can transform deeply held convictions.

Bandwidth of Convictions: From Fleeting to Foundational

| Type       | Example                       | Changeable?                           |

| ---------- | ----------------------------- | ------------------------------------- |

| Opinion    | “I like sushi.”               | Easily shifts with exposure.          |

| Belief     | “Hard work pays off.”         | Moderate; adapts with experience.     |

| Conviction | “Violence is always immoral.” | Deep; tied to identity-hard to shift. |

Work or romantic convictions may fall into belief territory-adaptable-while moral perspectives often feel more permanent.

The Takeaway

Convictions anchor identity-and identities resist change.
Cognitive defenses and social forces make us stick to prior beliefs.
Yet human convictions do shift, often through story, experience, empathy, or necessity.
So when your views shift overnight-don’t judge yourself. You’re simply rewriting the story of who you are.