Cognitive Dissonance In Psychology: Definition and Examples

When there are conflicts between cognitions (thoughts, beliefs, and opinions), people will take steps to reduce the dissonance and feelings of discomfort. Sometimes learning new information can lead to feelings of cognitive dissonance. For example, if you engage in a http://www.megadeth.ru/texts/risk.html behavior that you later learn is harmful, it can lead to feelings of discomfort. People sometimes deal with this by finding ways to justify their behaviors or findings ways to discredit or ignore new information. Most of these techniques share a common grounding and background in traditional cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy techniques. A part of that self awareness that may help in dealing with cognitive dissonance is to examine the commitments and decisions we make in our lives.

Effort

In the New Look perspective, the arousal state is not caused by inconsistency, but rather by the perception of having been responsible for bringing about an aversive event (Scher & Cooper, 1989). https://tbs-company.ru/evroslovar-v-belarusi-vyshel-rekordnyj-po-kolichestvu-yazykov-slovar/ Cognitive inconsistency is relevant because having inconsistent representations often produces unwanted consequences – but not always. Scher & Cooper (1989) compared the role of consistency between cognitions with the role of consequences. We found that dissonance was aroused whenever a course of action produced unwanted consequences, regardless of whether behavior was consistent or inconsistent with attitudes. Arguably, the least appreciated feature of dissonance theory was also its most innovative. Festinger used the term “cognitive” to precede dissonance, arguing that all types of thoughts, behaviors and perceptions were represented in people’s thinking by way of their cognitive representations.

Adding More Beliefs to Outweigh Dissonant Beliefs

In another, he wondered how people would feel if they noticed that their own behavior did not fit with social mores. In another, he wondered what people would experience if they found themselves behaving in ways that contradicted their own attitudes. Social comparison was an https://gabrielblastedglass.com/this-is-the-reason-why-flu-drugs-always-make-you-sleepy.html activity that people engaged in when they were confronted by a particular discrepancy in a particular circumstance.

• Resolving cognitive dissonance is a challenging process – but one of great growth and learning.
• In Thibodeau & Aronson’s (1992) view, this procedure established dissonance by having participants focus on the discrepancy between their advocacy and their past behavior.
• This could include changes in behavior or attempts to ignore information that contradicts a goal or desire.
• We found that dissonance was aroused whenever a course of action produced unwanted consequences, regardless of whether behavior was consistent or inconsistent with attitudes.

Acquire new information that outweighs the dissonant beliefs.

Is it a perception (as “cognitive” suggests), a feeling, or a feeling about a perception? Aronson’s Revision of the idea of dissonance as an inconsistency between a person’s self-concept and a cognition about their behavior makes it seem likely that dissonance is really nothing more than guilt. The theory of cognitive dissonance has been widely researched in a number of situations to develop the basic idea in more detail, and various factors have been identified which may be important in attitude change.