Cognitive Dissonance

Concept

Cognitive dissonance is the psychological discomfort experienced when a person holds two or more conflicting beliefs, values, or attitudes, or when behavior conflicting with beliefs. People are motivated to reduce this discomfort, often by changing attitudes, justifying actions, or ignoring contradictions.

Key Points

• Arises from inconsistency between beliefs and behaviors.
• Dissonance motivates attitude change, rationalization, or selective exposure to information.
• Can strength commitment to beliefs if people double down rather than adjust.
• Plays a role in self-justification and persistence and harmful practices.

Example

• A smoker who knows smoking causes cancer may reduce dissonance by convincing themselves that “the risks are exaggerated” or “I’ll quant later.”
• A student who cheats on an exam but sees themselves as honest may rationalize: “Everyone else does it,” reducing the discomfort.

Related Ideas

• Confirmation Bias: often used to reduce dissonance by selectively attending to supportive evidence.
• Echo Chambers: environments that protect people from dissonant information.
• Group Polarization: can be intensified when dissonance is resolved by aligning with groups.