What is Cognitive Dissonance and How Do You Reduce it?

For example, you believe that you need to reduce the amount of sugar in your diet. However, if a person finds that they have difficulty stopping a behavior or thinking pattern that is causing them distress, they can seek support from a qualified healthcare professional, such as a primary care doctor or therapist. Because it is something a person feels internally, it is not possible to physically observe dissonance. As such, no set of https://northiowatoday.com/2025/01/27/sober-house-rules-what-you-should-know-before-moving-in/ external signs can reliably indicate a person is experiencing cognitive dissonance. She is an immigrant and identifies as a Chinese and Filipina American woman. Her clinical work, research expertise and advocacy for supporting BIPOC communities, LGBTQ+ folx, as well as human sex trafficking survivors have garnered national praise and notoriety.

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Many experiments have since been conducted to illustrate cognitive dissonance in more ordinary contexts. Cognitive dissonance is a term for the state of discomfort felt when two or more modes of thought contradict each other. The clashing cognitions may include ideas, beliefs, or the knowledge that one has behaved in a certain way.

Thus, some clients will be happy to engage in a change process that takes them beyond their comfort zones, whereas other clients are reluctant to do this. Working with the individual needs of your client can reduce cognitive dissonance and enhance therapy outcomes. Cognitive dissonance theory, proposed by Festinger, focuses on the discomfort felt when holding conflicting beliefs or attitudes, leading individuals to seek consistency. It sounds simple but the downside is that a lot of the time, we reduce the dissonance by deluding ourselves, or by using something to temporarily distract us, to silence the thoughts and numb the feelings. And on this last point – the term cognitive dissonance and the focus on the conflicting thoughts make it sounds as though the concept is a very ‘cerebral’ thing, something that only happens in the mind.

Adding More Beliefs to Outweigh Dissonant Beliefs

• As such, no set of external signs can reliably indicate a person is experiencing cognitive dissonance.
• Staw (1974) used dissonance theory to understand the reactions of Americans to the lottery that determined whether they would be drafted for the Vietnam War.
• People who experience dissonance but have no way to resolve it may also feel powerless or guilty.
• Read on to learn more about cognitive dissonance, including examples, signs a person might be experiencing it, causes, and how to resolve it.
• For example, a person may have to do something they disagree with at work.

In the history of science, a theory or perspective can become important because it is bold and controversial. It may not be correct in all of its details, but it upsets the conventional wisdom that came before. I would argue that the most fundamental assumption about human and infrahuman behavior in the decade of the 1950’s was learning theory. Scholars argued about the relative merits of approaches such as Skinner’s behaviorism or Hull’s drive theory, but few dared to question the fundamental notion that organisms approach rewards and avoid punishments. This was as true of humans in the workplace as it was for pigeons and rats in experimental cages. sober house But sometimes, we have feelings of dissonance and we don’t understand — or can’t trace — where they came from.

For example, the self-consistency theory proposes that dissonance is the result of a conflict between your behavior and your self-concept. You might see yourself as an honest person, so if you tell a lie, it conflicts with your self-concept. Inconsistencies in your thoughts and actions trigger discomfort and emotions like anger, irritation, anxiety, guilt, and regret. Then, you feel compelled to resolve the dissonance by changing your cognitions or actions. Alternatively, they may reduce cognitive dissonance by being mindful of their values and pursuing opportunities to live those values.

Together, we can work toward understanding and resolving the internal conflicts that may be holding you back from living your best life. Conversely, recognizing and addressing cognitive dissonance is an essential part of personal growth and healing. In psychotherapy, clients often confront dissonance when they face aspects of themselves or their lives that don’t align with their self-image or values. Therapy provides a safe space to explore these inconsistencies, examine why they exist, and find healthier ways to resolve them. For instance, imagine you believe in the importance of living a healthy lifestyle but frequently indulge in junk food. This creates dissonance between your actions (eating unhealthily) and your belief (valuing health).

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Just as people need to reduce their thirst by drinking and their hunger by eating, people who perceive inconsistency must find a way to reduce it. The drive to reduce inconsistency can be accomplished by a number of means, but attitude change became the most frequent resolution in the early research on dissonance. Enter cognitive dissonance therapy, a specialized form of cognitive therapy that aims to address these conflicting beliefs head-on. To help individuals recognize and resolve their inconsistent thoughts and behaviors, ultimately leading to improved mental health and well-being. The theoretical controversy notwithstanding, the hypocrisy paradigm propelled dissonance research into a new era. This provides us with a new perspective on why people change their attitudes following attitude-inconsistent behavior.

Helping clients respond to a crisis

Cognitive restructuring, which is often used to address negative thinking patterns, may be useful here. Developing a better understanding of your priorities can help you identify and correct internal conflicts. The more important a particular value or belief is to you, the more likely you are to experience discomfort when you go against it. Cognitive dissonance is the unease or discomfort you experience when you have cognitions (ideas, beliefs, or values) that aren’t consistent with one another, or when your cognitions and behaviors seem to contradict. 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.

Psychology for Change

The goal in dream revision therapy is control over nightmares related to the trauma. Control inevitably involves the resolution of conflicting ideas or emotions. Control over trauma-related nightmares results in control over the trauma, which leads to control over one’s current waking life.

• For a small percentage of clients, this can become socially or life-limiting.
• He latches on to that information as he perceives it to be ‘stronger information’ than his previous belief, and it is more consonant (fits in better) with his ‘living for today’ cognition.
• Where cognitions are consistent with each other, such as “I like eating salads” and “vegetables are healthy” these can be referred to as ‘consonant’.
• We experience cognitive dissonance daily, relating to a whole spectrum of tiny to huge things.
• Social comparison was an activity that people engaged in when they were confronted by a particular discrepancy in a particular circumstance.
• The degree of dissonance experienced can depend on a few different factors.

The fact that dissonance has a magnitude and the magnitude can predict different degrees of cognitive change was different from prior theorizing. A third strategy that some clients use to reduce cognitive dissonance is to change one or more of their existing beliefs, attitudes or behaviours in order to make the balance between two beliefs consonant instead of dissonant. ‘James’ may find this approach more challenging, as it may be difficult to change a highly established behavioural response (e.g. smoking) or a strongly held attitude / belief (e.g. ‘living for today’). Cognitive dissonance, first described in 1956 by Festinger, is a psychological state in which one holds two conflicting beliefs at the same time. Most people are uncomfortable in this state of mind, and try to reduce the conflict, sometimes successfully, sometimes not. By trusting GenPsych, you’re choosing a partner in mental health that prioritizes your unique journey.

Cognitive dissonance is a psychological phenomenon that occurs when there is a conflict between our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. It’s that uncomfortable tension we experience when our actions don’t align with our beliefs, or when we hold two contradictory ideas at once. This mental friction can impact our well-being, triggering stress, anxiety, and confusion. But it can also be a powerful motivator for change, pushing us to resolve these internal conflicts and restore balance.

• Often, these conditions are fueled by conflicting beliefs about oneself and the world.
• For example, behaving in ways that are not aligned with your personal values may result in intense feelings of discomfort.
• It is appropriate that we accelerate the application of dissonance to processes and institutions that can provide real help to people.
• Whether you seek therapy in-person or via an online therapy platform, a professional can guide you through cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) techniques, such as adjusting your conflicting beliefs and attitudes.
• Drive reduction is the process that makes dissonance theory convert cognitive representations into attitude change and other regulation activities.

Cognitive dissonance is an internal tool for building self-awareness. 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. Cognitive bias is the tendency to process information in the light of our own experiences. Our brains rely on patterns, past experiences, and mental shortcuts to process information quickly. That means that when we take in new information, we don’t interpret it objectively.

Allow it to take up your full attention and set aside the urge to label it. Research from 2020 found that mindfulness could potentially help you cope with dissonance. This could be because mindfulness involves accepting things as they are without judgment. So, it can help you accept dissonance without labeling it as “bad” or something that needs to be acted upon.

Cognitive dissonance is one of many areas where therapy can provide valuable insights and tools for growth. By understanding the conflicts between what we think, feel, and do, therapy empowers individuals to find harmony centered within themselves. Finally, many of the studies supporting the theory of cognitive dissonance have low ecological validity. For example, turning pegs (as in Festinger’s experiment) is an artificial task that doesn’t happen in everyday life.