Cognitive dissonance is an uncomfortable psychological state that arises when one holds inconsistent beliefs at the same time, or their behaviors and beliefs do not align. In their attempts to alleviate this discomfort, people may use dissonance-reduction strategies that can work in the moment but are not always effective in the long-term, such as avoiding specific information or changing their beliefs. However, when people recognize cognitive dissonance, they can address it in productive ways that let them live more in line with their values.
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What Is Cognitive Dissonance?
Cognitive dissonance is defined by the American Psychological Association as “an unpleasant psychological state resulting from inconsistency between two or more elements in a cognitive system”.1 First theorized by Leon Festinger in his 1957 book, A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance, cognitive dissonance creates an intense drive to reduce discomfort and move toward consonance, or a state of consistency.2
The intensity of the cognitive dissonance someone experiences depends on the magnitude of their dissonant thoughts (how important they are to them), and the proportion of dissonant thoughts to consonant thoughts. Festinger proposed three ways in which individuals try to address dissonance: change their beliefs, add more consonant beliefs, or reduce the importance of the dissonant beliefs or behaviors.4
What Causes Cognitive Dissonance?
Cognitive dissonance is caused by two conflicting beliefs occurring at the same time. Or, when a person acts in ways that are inconsistent with their beliefs. Of course, for every cognitive element, there is another element that will be dissonant with it. But, as the magnitude and proportion of dissonant thoughts increase, so does our drive to reduce the discomfort.
Possible causes of cognitive dissonance include:
- Forced compliance: Situations at work or school may conflict with one’s beliefs and elicit cognitive dissonance. For example, an environmentalist is assigned to represent an oil company. An individual in this situation may try to change their opinions in order to reduce discomfort.
- Decision Making: When a decision must be made between two similarly appealing or unappealing choices, people tend to shift their beliefs for a few reasons: to increase their preference for the option they chose, devalue the option they did not choose, or both.3 For instance, if a high school student was accepted into two colleges that they liked equally, they would devalue the one they did not choose after making a decision.
- Reading the news: People tend to avoid information that goes against their beliefs. Instead, they focus on information that confirms these, in order to reduce dissonance. When it comes to the media, people may ignore news sources that present contradictory information, and seek out others that are reinforcing.4
- Reaching a difficult goal: Those who go through more effort to reach a goal are likely to value the goal more.4 This may be evident for those who have achieved degrees in higher education, survived hazing in Greek Life, or were accepted into an exclusive country club.
- Addiction: Being addicted to cigarettes would cause cognitive dissonance in someone who values their health. Individuals in this situation might try to focus on the belief that smoking helps them eat less unhealthy food, in order to justify their behavior.
What Influences Cognitive Dissonance?
Various factors affect whether a situation causes cognitive dissonance, including:
- Influence of others
- Cultural/societal norms
- Personal goals
- Number of dissonant beliefs
- Importance of dissonant beliefs
5 Signs of Cognitive Dissonance
While everyone experiences some degree of cognitive dissonance in everyday life, there are signs it is becoming detrimental, including:
- Spending excessive time rationalizing your behavior to yourself or others
- Feeling intense shame or embarrassment about something you’ve said or done, and having the urge to hide it or avoid those who know about it
- Agonizing over a decision either before or after making it
- Giving in to peer pressure or acting against your better judgment for fear of disappointing others
- Experiencing intense guilt or regret about your actions
- Feeling defeated and hopeless, because you don’t know how to address whatever feels “off”
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Examples of Cognitive Dissonance
Cognitive dissonance can manifest in multiple aspects of everyday life, such as politics, relationships, work, marketing, finances and personal goals.
Examples of cognitive dissonance include:
- Rationalizing staying in an unhappy marriage for your children
- Valuing financial independence, but relying on your parents financially
- Buying a specific breed of dog you want from a breeder, even though you believe that breeding dogs is immoral
- Purchasing fast fashion items even though it goes against your environmental beliefs
- Feeling guilty for not eating well and exercising when you have set an intention to live a healthy lifestyle
- Speaking passionately about your political views, but forgetting to vote
- Setting a goal of saving money, but spending more than you have budgeted each month
Effects of Cognitive Dissonance
Cognitive dissonance can affect individuals’ mental health and relationships. These mindsets can create negative emotional states such as guilt, shame, and regret. Moreover, they increase the likelihood of one using defense mechanisms such as rationalizing, which may be ineffective in the long run. Cognitive dissonance can become disruptive to someone’s sense of self and quality of life.
Some possible effects of cognitive dissonance include:
- Lower self-esteem: Someone may develop low self-esteem from acting in ways that do not align with their beliefs. This further elicits shame, and a desire to hide from others. For instance, someone who works for a corporation that violates their personal values may avoid friendships and romantic relationships, because they don’t want to talk about what they do for work.
- Blame-shifting: An individual who is unaware of how cognitive dissonance is affecting them may shift blame in order to manage negative feelings. If a parent’s child cheats on a test, they might blame the school or teacher for allowing a culture of cheating that corrupted their child. This then removes any fault from the parent, in order to reduce their dissonance.
- Emotion Dysregulation: The more someone experiences cognitive dissonance, the higher the intensity of negative emotional states and the likelihood of becoming emotionally dysregulated. If an individual attends business school because their parents want them to, instead of pursuing their real interest in social work, they might be more anxious and irritable compared to someone whose studies align with their interests.
- Limited world view: In order to avoid information that contradicts one’s own beliefs, an individual experiencing cognitive dissonance may become more and more closed off to the world. They may only seek out people and ideas that confirm what they already believe to be true. Therefore, a person becomes more susceptible to confirmation bias.5 This could manifest as an individual avoiding having friends of diverse backgrounds, because it elicits dissonance.
How to Deal with Cognitive Dissonance
Signs of cognitive dissonance typically emerge when people are engaging in behaviors that conflict with their thoughts or beliefs. While this can result in some turning to maladaptive behaviors (like blaming and avoiding), it is possible to deal with cognitive dissonance in healthy ways that address the issue at hand. When individuals are mindful of how cognitive dissonance is affecting them, they can recognize the areas in which they need to become more aligned with their personal values.
Address the Cause of the Issue
Addressing the cause of your cognitive dissonance is the first step in overcoming it. For example, if eating meat makes you feel guilty or shameful, because you’re passionate about animal rights, be mindful of the discomfort you are experiencing. Next, you can start to understand why the behavior is so hard for you to change. Ask yourself, what is getting in the way of cutting out meat from your diet? Consider whether you really want to cut out meat, or if you prefer to support humane animal rights. If the answer is that you don’t know any healthy alternative protein sources, problem solving may include buying a vegetarian cookbook or asking vegetarian friends for advice. Make it a priority to have one meatless day per week to build a sense of accomplishment until you’ve reached your goal.
Challenge & Reduce Beliefs That Don’t Align With Your Values
Becoming aware of any cognitive dissonance can help you start to challenge the beliefs that contradict your values. If you think that the only way you’ll maintain a healthy weight is by smoking, but know smoking is bad for you, consider introducing alternative methods for staying on track. Try walking a few times a week, or practicing mindful eating and drinking water, rather than rely on smoking.
Practice Exposure to Contradictory Information
If you find yourself avoiding information that does not align with your beliefs, try to mindfully practice exposure. Understanding more about alternative information can be useful for learning how to tolerate any discomfort you may feel about it. Maybe, you’ll even expand your worldview. This practice might look like purposefully seeking out news sources, friends, or family with different viewpoints than you, and noticing what feelings occur when you hear contradictory information. Try to acknowledge that information and opinions aren’t always black and white, and try to feel more comfortable with gray areas.
Additionally, preparing ahead of time for these situations can also help–you may plan to use breathwork, thoughts and feelings labeling, mindful listening, or practicing expressing your dissenting beliefs in effective ways.
Take Your Time When Making Decisions
In order to reduce discomfort when making decisions and regret, make a pros and cons list that includes the facts, as well as any emotions you associate with a decision. Add in the short and long term consequences of each choice. This will help you acknowledge the valid aspects of both options, rather than simply devaluing the one that you don’t choose. By deciding from a “wise mind”– as we call it in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)– you are less likely to feel regret later on.
How Therapy Can Help
Therapy can be beneficial when dealing with cognitive dissonance. A trained, objective therapist can help clients recognize the signs and reasons for their cognitive dissonance, as well as offer tools to address it. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) can be particularly helpful, as clients are encouraged to challenge maladaptive beliefs, and learn how their thoughts affect their emotions and behaviors. Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is another option to consider, because it teaches individuals the skill of dialectics. This shows a person how to hold opposing ideas at the same time, without slipping into black and white thinking and becoming more dysregulated. There are many ways to find the right therapist, including our personal networks, insurance referrals, and an online therapist directory.
Final Thoughts
Cognitive dissonance is a state of psychological discomfort that occurs when we hold opposing beliefs simultaneously, or when our behaviors and beliefs do not align. Many people try to reduce cognitive dissonance through ineffective strategies such as rationalization or avoidance. However, when we learn to recognize what cognitive dissonance is, how it feels, and how we can address it in a productive way, we can become more aligned with what we truly care about.
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