When someone tells a lie and feels uncomfortable about it because he fundamentally sees himself as an honest person, he may be experiencing cognitive dissonance. That is, there is mental discord related to a contradiction between one thought (in this case, knowing he did something wrong) and another (thinking that he is honest). A person who feels defensive or unhappy might consider the role cognitive dissonance might play in these feelings. If they are part of a wider problem that is causing distress, people may benefit from speaking with a therapist. Avoiding, delegitimizing, and limiting the impact of cognitive dissonance may result in a person not acknowledging their behavior and thus not taking steps to resolve the dissonance.
What is cognitive dissonance and how do you reduce it?
- This became known as the “free-choice paradigm.” If the items were basically equal, people would begin to invent “advantages” for the one they chose.
- This is often very difficult, as people frequently employ a variety of mental maneuvers.
- This may be accomplished most readily in the area of health, but can also affect the political and economic realms as well.
- In order to live our lives with purpose, clarity, and passion, we need these tools to understand when we’re losing sight of our internal compass.
- In addition to the cognitive dissonance we are experiencing, “True Lies” and “False Truths” are oxymorons that we frequently hear during political and public health conflicts we are experiencing.
- This might involve discussing various aspects of your life, from relationships and career choices to personal values and habits.
In the laboratory and in the field, we have studied the subtleties and nuances of the dissonance process. It is appropriate that we accelerate the application of dissonance to processes and institutions that can provide real help to people. Not everyone practices what they preach—and that could trigger poor cognitive dissonance and addiction mental health. Cognitive dissonance is the psychological conflict a person experiences when they hold simultaneous conflicting attitudes, beliefs or behaviors. If left unchecked, it could lead to anxiety and mental tension, and you might even try to rationalize harmful actions. The prediction that people can experience dissonance vicariously is based on a combination of dissonance theory with social identity theory (McKimmie, 2015; Tajfel, 1970; Tajfel & Turner, 1986; Hogg, 2001).
Cognitive Dissonance Therapy: A Beacon of Hope
This internal conflict can fuel the cycle of disordered eating and make recovery challenging. Cognitive dissonance plays a role in many value judgments, decisions, and evaluations. Becoming aware of how conflicting beliefs impact the decision-making process is a great way to improve your ability to make faster and more accurate choices. Psychologist Kia-Rai Prewitt, PhD, explains how to manage this feeling of discomfort, what’s known as cognitive dissonance, and how it can affect your mental health and other relationships when left unchecked. But you can feel caught off guard when those values and beliefs are shaken by social pressures, the presence of new information or having to make a rushed last-minute decision. Sometimes, we can even get caught up in behaving or reacting a certain way that doesn’t necessarily align with how we really feel — and then we end up feeling lost.
Decisions
It led to innovations in understanding people’s motivations for the attitudes they hold, the behaviors they engage in and the preferences they express. It also led to innovations in leveraging the dissonance process to help people with important practical considerations such as improving their mental and physical health. A series of studies that I was involved in with my colleague Mark Zanna took a different approach. We asked participants to ingest a pill as part of what they thought was a completely separate study. We had people engage in a counterattitudinal essay writing task and told half of them that any arousal they might be experiencing was due to the pill. We reasoned that if attitude change is based on the arousal caused by inconsistent cognitions, then those participants who could blame their arousal on the pill would not be motivated to change their attitudes.
Lifestyle Quizzes
It can become problematic if it leads you to justify or rationalize behaviors that could be harmful. Or you may get caught up in trying to rationalize the dissonance to the point of stressing yourself out. You start going to bed earlier and get up with enough time to work out. It’s hard at first, but instead of feeling guilty when you see the gym keychain, you feel proud of yourself.
Since they work all day in an office and spend a great deal of time sitting, it is difficult to change their behavior. Cognitive dissonance can be caused by feeling forced to do something, learning new information, or when faced with a decision between two similar choices. Sometimes, new information leads to cognitive dissonance, but that also allows you to take new actions you may not have thought about taking before. Simply being more aware of how your thoughts and actions fit together can help you better understand what’s important to you, even if you don’t eliminate the dissonance. You tell yourself it’s OK since you’re taking care of your health in other ways. You still feel guilty, though, because you know it’s important to be active.