Question: What Is Cognitive Dissonance? Answer: People tend to seek consistency in their beliefs and perceptions.

So what happens when one of our beliefs conflicts with another previously held belief? The term cognitive dissonance is used to describe the feeling of discomfort that results from holding two conflicting beliefs. When there is a discrepancy between beliefs and behaviors, something must change in order to eliminate or reduce the dissonance. Examples of Cognitive Dissonance Cognitive dissonance can occur in many areas of life, but it is particularly evident in situations where an individual's behavior conflicts with beliefs that are integral to his or her self-identity. For example, consider a situation in which a woman who values financial security is in a relationship with a man who is financially irresponsible. The conflict: It is important for her to be financially secure. She is dating a man who is financially unstable. In order to reduce this dissonance between belief and behavior, she can either leave the relationship or reduce her emphasis on financial security. In the case of the second option, dissonance could be further minimized by emphasizing the positive qualities of her significant other rather than focusing on his perceived flaws. A more common example of cognitive dissonance occurs in the purchasing decisions we make on a regular basis. Most people want to hold the belief that they make good choices. When a product or item we purchase turns out badly, it conflicts with our previously existing belief about our decision-making abilities. How to Reduce Cognitive Dissonance There are three key strategies to reduce or minimize cognitive dissonance:

Focus on more supportive beliefs that outweigh the dissonant belief or behavior. Reduce the importance of the conflicting belief. Change the conflicting belief so that it is consistent with other beliefs or behaviors.

Why is Cognitive Dissonance Important? 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.

COGNITIVE DISSONANCE Cognitive dissonance is an unpleasant state that occurs when we notice discrepancies between our attitudes or between our attitude and behavior. Sometimes there is a sizeable gap between what we feel inside and what we show outside. An example will illustrate the point. A person sees his neighbor has bought a new car, which is a luxury car. He asks this person whether the car is great or not. Although this person does not like big cars because he feels they are gas-guzzlers, they occupy more space, add to the environment pollution, etc, he is forced to admire the car and speak well about it. This is because his neighbor is a very friendly person and has always helped him. When he admired the car, he actually would have felt very uncomfortable. His behavior was not consistent with his attitude. When such discomfort appears, this negative reaction is called Cognitive Dissonance. Cognitive dissonance appears frequently in our lives. Every time you say things you really do not believe in, (for example praise something you do not actually like, to be polite), make a difficult decision to reject an alternative that you really like, or when you find that something in which you invested money and effort to obtain is not as good as you expected, you may experience dissonance. Cognitive dissonance can sometimes lead to a shift in our attitude, so that they are consistent with other attitudes or behavior of ours. In other words because of cognitive dissonance and its effect, we sometimes change our own attitudes even though there is no external pressure to do so. How does a person remove cognitive dissonance? First would be to change the attitude or behavior so that it is more consistent with each other. For example a person, who drinks alcohol, when he is presented with information of liver cirrhosis, will say there are other reasons for this disease; alcohol is not the only one. So he will say the information is wrong! Secondly, cognitive dissonance can be removed by acquiring new information that supports our attitude. For example, a smoker will look for evidence that smoking is not really harmful or that the negative effect is only for heavy smokers or that the benefit of smoking like reduced tension, weight control, etc are more beneficial than the negative effects. The third method to remove cognitive dissonance will be by engaging in trivialization, that is, the inconsistency is considered too small to be taken into account. These three are direct methods to remove cognitive dissonance. There are also indirect methods. Here the discrepancy is there but the negative feeling is reduced. This is done not by attitude change or other methods, but by focusing on the positive self-attributes, that is, good things about themselves. The first example of having admired the new luxury car which caused dissonance, here the discomfort can be reduced by the person by reminding himself of having always spoken against big cars, taken part in protest against global warming, writing to newspaper or magazines about the ills of having big cars, etc. All these reminders remove the negative aspect of having praised the big car.

Some people even indulge in alcohol to remove cognitive dissonance. Another indirect method could be distracting oneself to take the mind off the dissonance. Sometimes circumstances do not allow for reduction of dissonance. At such times people live with large gaps between attitude and their behavior. For example, a survey in the US showed 99% said smoking is harmful, but 2 in every 10 American smoke. They say teenagers shouldnt smoke, but light up in front of them. Also many smokers, though they know the harmful effects of tobacco cannot give up because of their strong addiction. Many smokers also said underage children shouldnt smoke, and that the stores that sell cigarettes to them should be penalized. Cognitive dissonance can lead to change in behavior. If a persons hypocrisy is called up, he/she will be compelled to change the behavior through direct means. If a person advocates some thing but does not follow it in his/her own life, he/she can be reminded about it and he/she will undergo change in behavior. There are people who talk about wearing seat belts but who themselves do not wear one. When reminded about this hypocrisy, they will start to wear one. Dissonance often occurs in situation involving forced compliance, one in which we are induced by external factors to say or do something that are inconsistent with our true attitude. Dissonance is a universal aspect, but the conditions under which it occurs and the tactics adopted to remove them vary according to culture.