The mental discomfort experienced when holding contradictory beliefs
Core Idea: Cognitive dissonance is the psychological discomfort that occurs when a person holds contradictory beliefs, values, or attitudes, or when behaviors conflict with beliefs, motivating efforts to reduce this internal inconsistency.
Key Elements
Core Mechanism
- Psychological tension arises from inconsistency between cognitions
- Discomfort motivates resolution of contradictions
- Resolution typically occurs through changing beliefs, behavior, or perception
- Intensity varies based on importance of cognitions and degree of inconsistency
- Can occur unconsciously with rationalization happening automatically
Common Triggers
- Belief-behavior inconsistency: Acting contrary to stated values
- Effort justification: Need to justify difficult choices or investments
- Decision dissonance: Doubt following significant decisions
- New information: Encountering facts that contradict existing beliefs
- Social disagreement: When valued others hold contradictory views
Resolution Strategies
- Belief change: Modifying attitudes to match behavior
- Behavior change: Aligning actions with existing beliefs
- Rationalization: Creating justifications that explain away inconsistencies
- Trivialization: Reducing the importance of dissonant elements
- Selective information processing: Seeking confirming evidence while avoiding contradictory data
Notable Effects
- Post-decision dissonance: Increased valuation of chosen options
- Effort justification effect: Greater value attributed to things requiring more effort
- Induced compliance paradigm: Attitude shift following counter-attitudinal behavior
- Belief perseverance: Maintaining beliefs despite contradictory evidence
- Self-justification: Creating explanations that protect self-image
Additional Connections
- Broader Context: Cognitive Biases (systematic patterns in human thinking)
- Applications: Self-Deception (maintaining false beliefs despite evidence)
- See Also: Actions Reveal True Priorities (behavioral evidence of actual values)
References
- Festinger, L. (1957). A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance
- Aronson, E. (1992). The return of the repressed: Dissonance theory makes a comeback. Psychological Inquiry, 3(4), 303-311.
#psychology #cognition #mental-processes #beliefs
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Sources:
- From: Sivers-Hell Yeah or No