This is a psychological theory proposed by Leon Festinger that suggests we have an inner drive to hold all our attitudes and beliefs in harmony and avoid disharmony (or dissonance). When there is an inconsistency between attitudes or behaviors (dissonance), something must change to eliminate the dissonance.
Imagine you're on a diet but you love chocolate cake. You know eating the cake goes against your diet, creating a conflict - this is cognitive dissonance. To resolve it, you might convince yourself that one piece won't hurt, or maybe even decide that diets aren't really necessary for health - these are ways of reducing the discomfort caused by the conflicting ideas.
Attitude: A settled way of thinking or feeling about someone or something, typically one which is reflected in a person's behavior.
Belief System: The collective beliefs shared by individuals around values, ideas and experiences; it influences how they perceive their environment and respond to it.
Self-Perception Theory: A theory suggesting people develop attitudes by observing their own behavior and concluding what attitudes must have caused them.
Although I dislike my classmate, I am nice to her because she helps me with my psychology homework. Cognitive dissonance theory suggests that I will _____.
According to cognitive dissonance theory, what happens when there is a disagreement between what we do and what we believe?
How does cognitive dissonance theory relate to decision making?
How does cognitive dissonance theory potentially oversimplify human decision-making?
How does cognitive dissonance theory explain our motivation to reduce discomfort when we hold two conflicting beliefs?
How does cognitive dissonance theory apply in marketing and advertising?
What scenario represents cognitive dissonance theory at work in society?
How does cognitive dissonance theory explain why people change their behavior after committing environmentally unfriendly acts?
How does cognitive dissonance theory explain motivation for learning?
How does the cognitive dissonance theory explain the commonly observed phenomenon of post-purchase rationalization?
How does cognitive dissonance theory relate to the principle of contradiction in formal logic?
How does cognitive dissonance theory in psychology align with social conflict theory from sociology?
What does cognitive dissonance theory propose?
How can the cognitive dissonance theory be applied to a person who smokes despite knowing that it is harmful?
Why does cognitive dissonance theory predict discomfort if an individual who was raised in a homophobic environment later realizes they're gay?
How might cognitive dissonance theory explain a person's increased effort in pursuit of a goal despite repeated failures?
How might an understanding of cognitive dissonance theory help explain some reactions to trauma?
How does the fundamental attribution error relate to the cognitive dissonance theory in explaining a person's behavior?
Why might a person who believes in climate change not recycle, according to cognitive dissonance theory?
What would likely cause a shift in attitudes according to cognitive dissonance theory?
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