Cognitive Dissonance In Psychology: Definition and Examples

The is a case when a pair of cognitive elements does not imply anything concerning one another. Once again, it can be challenging to deduce such a relationship because two elements may be indirectly linked. Therefore, researchers have to consider or make a reference to other cognitions before deriving a conclusion (Festinger, 1962). This article appeared in the first edition of the Elsevier Encyclopedia of Social and Behavioural Sciences (2001). Since then cognitive dissonance continues to interest social psychologists and to feed research on different fields such as health attitudes (smoking, eating habits), political attitudes (voting behavior, opinion polls, and election campaigns), and marketing. Dissonance theory also fed theories about system justification (see also Kay et al., 2002; Jost et al., 2003).

Get one concept every week in your inbox

Eventually, a more balanced perspective emerged, describing perceivers as motivated tacticians, who sometimes use shortcuts and sometimes think more carefully, depending on their goals. One such dual-process model, the continuum model (Fiske and Neuberg), holds that perceivers begin with automatic categories (e.g., stereotypes), but with motivated attention to additional information, perceivers may individuate instead. Brewer’s dual-process model posits automatic identification processes and controlled categorization, individuation, and personalization.

How Cognitive Dissonance Affects Behavior

The two most studied phases of cognitive dissonance in the organisational context were the cognitive discrepancy and the discrepancy reduction phase. Although both van Veen et al. (2009) and Izuma et al. (2010) commonly found pMFC activation in response to cognitive dissonance, the two studies report somewhat different activations in other areas. Notably, van Veen found reliable anterior insula activations, but relatively small DPLFC activations. On the other hand, Izuma reported extensive bilateral DLPFC activations, but anterior insula activation was found only after lowering the statistical threshold.

• However, cognitive dissonance can also be a tool for personal and social change.
• As we will see, this model also has been applied to applications of clinical and counseling practice.
• He predicted that those who traveled to the hilltop to be picked up by a UFO would be more likely to continue to believe than those who did not make the journey.
• For example, years ago, consumers felt they were making healthy decisions by choosing a diet soft drink over a regular soft drink.

How People Resolve Cognitive Dissonance

Prohibited or censured thoughts, feelings and activities (of self or others) must be reported to superiors. Where people live and with whom they can live is highly significant, because members of destructive cults violate the human right of free association by ordering or shaming members into ostracizing, shunning or disconnecting from non-believers. Identical modes of physiological arousal 38,57 and ACC activation 62,63,66,68 follow from a wide array of divergent inconsistencies that follow from equally unrelated expectations, whether they are ‘low-level’ or ‘high-level,’ ‘negative’ or ‘positive’ ۳۹,۵۸,۵۹٫ In the coming years, we believe that it is inevitable that psychologists of differing disciplines will question the utility of offering wholly ‘distinct’ motivational accounts for each instantiation of this general inconsistency compensation phenomenon. Many of these answers will come from psychologists of various fields comparing notes and compiling existing observations under a content-general inconsistency compensation framework – with a common nomenclature and common understanding of the core motivational phenomenon.

Understanding the effects of cognitive dissonance

Their developing brains are quick to absorb social norms, moral codes, and familial expectations. When their actions don’t align with what they’ve been taught, it can cognitive dissonance and addiction create internal conflict. Cognitive dissonance theory, which was founded by American social psychologist Leon Festinger in 1957, states that cognitive dissonance drives people to resolve the conflict between truths and behaviors that don’t match one another. This can mean either changing behavior or ignoring the truth to avoid discomfort. Only scant research has investigated multiple dissonance reduction strategies simultaneously (McGrath, 2017). However, in general, the likelihood that a particular cognition will change is determined by its resistance to change, which is based on its responsiveness to reality and the extent to which it is consonant with other cognitions (Harmon-Jones & Mills, 2019).

Understanding Cognitive Dissonance in Kids and Teens

A review has summarised and classified those strategies into seven categories (McGrath, 2017). Cognitive dissonance makes it tough to change our minds, especially when the two beliefs are tied up in our identity. Paul Graham (founder of Y Combinator) recommends we fight this uphill battle by identifying with as few things as we need to. For example, a person eats a lot of sugary, fatty foods every day while he is at risk of diabetes, and he is aware of the consequences. Learning to navigate this inner turmoil will help us recognize and address any conflicting feelings, leading us to a path of fulfillment and balance.

This could include changes in behavior or attempts to ignore information that contradicts a goal or desire. For example, a smoker might quit smoking or instead rationalize their behavior by saying other habits are just as dangerous. Cognitive dissonance is the discomfort you feel when you have two contradictory beliefs or values.

In This Article Expand or collapse the “in this article” section Cognitive Dissonance Theory

The cognitive discrepancy phase considered a conflict between two or more cognitive elements. The motivation phase focused on the motivational nature of dissonance to reduce the psychological discomfort. Lastly, the discrepancy reduction phase related to dissonance reduction mechanisms.