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In some situations, a mental health professional can help you sort through your thoughts. When you’re pressured to do something you’d rather not, cognitive dissonance exists because of the contradiction between the action and your preference not to perform it. Remember that cognitive dissonance is about how you feel inside when you go against what you believe, whether by choice or circumstance. When concepts are dissonant, this creates internal stress and the drive to make a change. Cognitive dissonance theory states that related thoughts or behaviors can be consonant (in agreement) or dissonant (in conflict).
The idea is, choosing something that is in opposition to how you feel or believe in will increase cognitive dissonance. Cognitive dissonance theory proposes that people seek psychological consistency between their expectations of life and the existential reality of the world. To function by that expectation of existential consistency, people continually reduce their cognitive dissonance in order to align their cognitions (perceptions of the world) with their actions.
How To Reduce Dissonance After An Energy Vampire Relationship
You may also experience cognitive dissonance when you have situations where friends, family members or coworkers act a certain way that don’t align with your beliefs. You may be pressured into allowing those actions to continue or participate in those actions yourself — and that can leave you with some significant discomfort, so you end up questioning exactly how you should feel about the situation. Because people want to avoid discomfort, cognitive dissonance can have a wide range of effects. Dissonance can play a role in how we act, think, and make decisions. We may engage in behaviors or adopt attitudes to help relieve the discomfort caused by the conflict. People experience cognitive dissonance for many reasons, but a common trigger is work.
- It can occur when a person holds two contradictory beliefs at the same time.
- In today’s world, people do things or have beliefs and opinions that sometimes leave us questioning humanity.
- Festinger and Carlsmith (1959) conducted one of the first studies examining cognitive dissonance.
You’ll replace them and always pick up after your dog in the future. The fact that any of us can be suckers for even the most outlandish conspiracy theory can be traced to inherent cognitive biases we all share. Information provided on Forbes Health is for educational purposes only. Your health and wellness is unique to you, and the products and services we review may not be right for your circumstances. We do not offer individual medical advice, diagnosis or treatment plans. Gaslighting is the effort of one person to make another doubt themselves.
Challenging Your Beliefs
The COVID-19 pandemic, an extreme public health crisis, cases rose to the hundred million and deaths at nearly four million worldwide. Reputable health organizations such as Lyu and Wehby studied the effects of wearing a face mask on the spread of COVID-19. When the COVID-19 vaccine was eventually released to the public, this only made the resistance stronger. “It depends on the immediacy of the treatment for cognitive dissonance situation and whether or not there’s any way to resolve it, but sometimes, new information can lead to action,” says Dr. Prewitt. It can also further strain your relationships with others, especially if you’re having cognitive dissonance related to what someone else is saying or doing. “You’re more likely to feel guilty if you’re doing something that goes against your values,” notes Dr. Prewitt.
Here’s a look at some everyday examples of cognitive dissonance and how you might come to terms with them. Hypocrisy involves a contradiction between a person’s supposed principles, beliefs, or character and who they really are or how they behave. Cognitive dissonance is the unpleasant mental state that may result if someone really does have certain beliefs but thinks or acts in a way that contradicts them. Psychologist Leon Festinger published the book A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance in 1957.