What is Cognitive Dissonace?

Cognitive is something related to thinking or “of the mind” while dissonance is conflict or inconsistency therefore Cognitive Dissonance is psychological conflict that results from holding two or more incompatible ideas simultaneously. The theory suggests that people are often motivated to reduce dissonance because it is an uncomfortable feeling. It can be reduced by justifying, blaming, and denying.

People often seek consistency among their beliefs and opinions which are also known as their cognitions. When there is an inconsistency between ones attitudes and behaviors something must be put in action to eliminate the dissonance. It is most likely that the attitude will change to accommodate the behavior.

The most common example of the Cognitive theory in action is the buyer’s remorse. An engagement ring is very expensive so after someone purchases it they start to feel doubt, guilt or sometimes even anger. They need a motivating factor for instance the fact that the woman is one they love and that they want to spend the rest of their lives with her in order to reduce these negative feelings. When one is reassured that they made the right choice, it is when the cognitive dissonance or the contradiction of ideas is reduced. This shows that when presented with two conflicting ideas one chooses an attitude to follow and learns to live with it.

Another example of cognitive dissonance is when a man is attracted to a woman. This woman in question might not be interested so the moment she rejects the man he feels embarrassed and dejected and turns around and says that she is ugly anyway. He does not necessarily mean she is ugly but the fact that she is an unattainable asset he reduces his dissonance by criticizing her. This example follows a pattern: one desires something, finds it unattainable, and reduces one's dissonance by criticizing it which is typical of human nature.

We can also consider a situation in which a woman who values financial security is in a relationship with a man who is financially irresponsible. The conflict that she may undergo is how important it is for her to be financially secure and seeing a man who is financially unstable. This will make her uncomfortable therefore in order to reduce the dissonance she can decide what is more important to her the: the man or the financial security. If she chooses to leave the relationship she reduces the dissonance but she can also ignore the flaws her man has and stay in the relationship.