Cognitive dissonance

Cognitive dissonance

 

Cognitive dissonance is a state where one's attitudes and behaviors are inconsistent and contradictory, creating discomfort or mental stress.

 

Definition In psychology, cognitive dissonance refers to the mental stress or discomfort experienced by an individual when holding two or more contradictory beliefs, thoughts, or values simultaneously, or when confronted with new information that contradicts existing beliefs. Leon Festinger's theory of cognitive dissonance focuses on people's internal consistency. Individuals experiencing inconsistency will feel psychological discomfort and may attempt to reduce this dissonance by changing their cognition (attitudes) to maintain harmony. This is known as cognitive restructuring.

 

Relationship between Cognitions The relationships between cognitions can be categorized into two main types: those that are related to each other and those that are not.

 

When cognitions and behaviors are consistent - when two cognitions or behaviors are related to each other When cognitions and behaviors are unrelated - when two cognitions or behaviors are not related to each other When cognitions and behaviors are inconsistent - when two cognitions or behaviors are contradictory to each other Intensity of Cognitive Dissonance The intensity of cognitive dissonance arising from discrepancies between cognitions and behaviors depends on two main factors:

1. Importance of the cognition: Dissonance will be stronger when the conflicting beliefs or behaviors are more important.
2. Proportion of the cognition: The degree to which the conflicting elements are significant

Ways to Reduce Cognitive Dissonance The theory of cognitive dissonance assumes that individuals will strive to achieve consistency between their experiences and reality. For this reason, people will attempt to resolve inconsistencies to reduce tension and stress. According to Leon Festinger, there are four primary ways to reduce dissonance:

1. Change behavior (stop drinking alcohol altogether).
2. Change cognition (rationalize behavior; "It's okay to have a little").
3. Introduce new cognitions to justify behavior or cognition ("Moderate drinking is good for health").
4. Disregard or deny information that conflicts with existing beliefs ("Spirits are not really alcohol").

Theory and Research Findings According to Festinger's experiments, most research on cognitive dissonance follows four major paradigms:

Belief/Discrepancy Paradigm Dissonance is a state in which individuals face contradictory information that is incompatible with their beliefs. If those experiencing dissonance don't think it can be resolved by a change in beliefs, they'll try to resolve it by trying to convince themselves of similar people.