Cognitive Dissonance Examples: 5 Ways It Pops Up In Everyday Life

Other critics suggest that researchers need to more thoroughly define critical elements of this theory to bolster its credibility. Elements mentioned include the dissonant state that one enters, the inconsistency between thought and behavior, and the regulation strategies once someone enters the dissonance state. For example, say you’re committed to living a healthy life, but you slack off and sub in your usual 45-minute workout for a Netflix binge and a pint of ice cream. When the dissonance sets in, you may feel conflicted, guilty, and like you’ve failed on your healthy-living goals.

Leon Festinger first proposed the theory of cognitive dissonance, centered on how people try to reach internal consistency. Cognitive dissonance can even influence how people feel about and view themselves, leading to negative feelings of self-esteem and self-worth.

Predictive dissonance model

Unlike hypocrisy, cognitive dissonance threatens our identity and sense of self. That’s why it’s important to recognize what it is and what it feels like — if you don’t, then it will be that much harder to live an authentic life aligned with your personal values.

The predictive dissonance account proposes that the motivation for cognitive dissonance reduction is related to an organism’s active drive for reducing prediction error. Moreover, it proposes that human brains have evolved to selectively ignore contradictory information to prevent the overfitting of their predictive cognitive models to local and thus non-generalizing conditions. The predictive dissonance account is highly compatible with the action-motivation model since, in practice, prediction error can arise from unsuccessful behavior. Cognitive dissonance produces a state cognitive dissonance theory of negative affect, which motivates the person to reconsider the causative behavior in order to resolve the psychological inconsistency that caused the mental stress. As the affected person works towards a behavioral commitment, the motivational process then is activated in the left frontal cortex of the brain. Cognitive dissonance refers to a situation involving conflicting attitudes, beliefs or behaviors. This produces a feeling of mental discomfort leading to an alteration in one of the attitudes, beliefs or behaviors to reduce the discomfort and restore balance.

Frequently Asked Questions about Cognitive Dissonance Theory

When faced with two similar choices, we are often left with feelings of dissonance because both options are equally appealing. After performing dissonant behavior a person might find external, consonant elements. Therefore, a snake oil salesman might find a psychological self-justification for promoting medical falsehoods, but, otherwise, might need to change his beliefs about the falsehoods. Notice that dissonance theory does not state that these modes of dissonance reduction will actually work, only that individuals who are in a state of cognitive dissonance will take steps to reduce the extent of their dissonance. For participants who were not asked to lie, and for participants who lied in exchange for $20, they tended to report that the study indeed wasn’t very interesting. After all, participants who had told a lie for $20 felt that they could justify the lie because they were paid relatively well .

However the $1 reward was not sufficient justification, so the participants in that condition had cognitive dissonance. To resolve this dissonance, they changed their attitudes to match their behavior and told the next “participant” that the experiment was actually worthwhile. Researchers have found that there is the greatest amount of attitude change when there is freedom of choice. Since you were there because you chose to attend and stay the whole time and your brain doesn’t like the fact that it was your choice and it was boring, cognitive dissonance kicks in. In the case of the alien enthusiasts, they were there of their own free will leading to a large attitude shift from the truth.

What is Cognitive Dissonance?

That is, there is mental discord related to a contradiction between one thought and another . Cognitive dissonance is a term for the state of discomfort felt when two or more modes of thought contradict each other. The clashing cognitions may include ideas, beliefs, or the knowledge that one has behaved in a certain way.

• Although this is a very morbid campaign, the use of cognitive dissonance is evident and the organization got the change in behavior and attitude that they wanted to.
• At its core, Festinger’s theory is about how people strive to make sense out of contradictory ideas and lead lives that are, at least in their own minds, consistent and meaningful.
• He may decide to discard his belief about selling in May, to revise it into a general rule with specific exceptions, or to stick with his prior belief and downplay the value of his broker’s advice or trustworthiness.
• Cognitive dissonance can even influence how people feel about and view themselves, leading to negative feelings of self-esteem and self-worth.
• To reduce this dissonance, we are motivated to try to think that the task turned out well.
• For example, John and Maria were in a happy relationship and one day they decided to meet at a fancy restaurant to celebrate their six-month anniversary.

But this transaction goes completely against the standards that Bella has set for herself. Change the current cognition to defend the attitude-discrepant behavior. Learn how to stay socially connected and why your life depends on it. Social connection is our lifeline for resilience, belonging, and inclusion at work. We benefit, though, from approaching these inconsistencies with curiosity and grace, even when we want to change them.

Changing Behavior

Just as the researchers expected, the group which was paid $1 rated the task as more interesting and made a better pitch compared to the other group. Cognitive dissonance has one of its vital https://ecosoberhouse.com/ implications in the field of consumer behaviorism. Consumers tend to assess and evaluate the various options available in the market and choose one that fits their idea of perfection.

Later, having had time to reflect on the scenario, Mary attempts to change her belief by adding new beliefs about how the nearby public pool was probably cleaned recently. Confronting cognitive dissonance can often lead to positive results.

How to stay socially connected: Your life depends on it

He found that cognitive dissonance happens when there is an inconsistency in a person’s beliefs and actions, and they recognize that inconsistency. To try to resolve their cognitive dissonance, a person can change their beliefs, change their actions, or change their perception of their actions. In brief, the stages of cognitive dissonance include an initial feeling of discomfort from a tension between beliefs and one’s actions, recognizing the tension, and finally a response that seeks to lower cognitive dissonance.

• Cognitive dissonance can bring about absurd decision making as a person attempts to reconcile their contradicting beliefs.
• This phenomenon, known as confirmation bias, affects the ability to think critically about a situation but helps minimize feelings of dissonance.
• This happens because an online consumer does not have the opportunity to experience the product in its entirety, and must rely on what information is available through photos and descriptions.
• Encourage them to share their ideas and thoughts and then give them the eLearning resources they can use to explore the topic on their own.
• To reduce this dissonance, they may seek out new information that overrides the belief that greenhouse gasses contribute to global warming.
• And even though it can be uncomfortable, it’s not necessarily something that you can avoid, explains Paraskevi Noulas, PsyD, a clinical assistant professor at NYU Langone Health in New York City.