Cognitive Dissonance: Why Do We Usually Say One Thing And Do Another?
Has it ever happened to you to say one thing and do another? This is one of the effects of cognitive dissonance. Find out why this psychological effect occurs and how to control it.
The cognitive dissonance In psychology it is when two thoughts or values that a person has come into conflict. That is, when there is an internal conflict between two simultaneous ideas or beliefs that are a priori incompatible or when one’s own behavior directly collides with personal beliefs.
Has it ever happened to you to think one thing and do another? Or have two contradictory feelings and that implies discomfort and not knowing how to act? He meaning of dissonance It is the lack of correspondence, conformity or equality between two things, in this case beliefs or emotions.
Knowing that it is bad to smoke and not quit, skipping a diet or being unfaithful, realizing that this clashes with our values are moments in which we are experiencing a cognitive dissonance (cognitive dissonancein English) and for those who look for a thousand and one excuses to minimize the discomfort it causes us.
Cognitive dissonance is a psychological phenomenon that explains why our actions often conflict with our beliefs and statements. This term, coined by psychologist Leon Festinger in 1957, describes the mental discomfort experienced when we hold two or more contradictory beliefs, values, or attitudes simultaneously. Understanding cognitive dissonance can provide valuable insights into human behavior and the mechanisms behind our decision-making processes.
Cognitive dissonance refers to the tension or discomfort that arises from conflicting cognitions—thoughts, beliefs, or attitudes. This concept was introduced by Festinger, who proposed that individuals are motivated to reduce this discomfort by changing their beliefs, acquiring new information, or minimizing the importance of the conflict.
Key Elements
The main elements of cognitive dissonance include:
Conflicting Beliefs: Holding contradictory beliefs or values.
Mental Discomfort: The psychological tension caused by the conflict.
Dissonance Reduction: The strategies employed to alleviate discomfort.
Cognitive dissonance: Example of how it works
What happens when that happens? cognitive dissonance ? The lack of internal harmony usually results in the person feeling discomfort, tension or anxiety since our internal coherence is being broken in some way. Another possible effect is the change in attitudes and behaviors regarding a situation, the rationalization of those attitudes that conflict with beliefs, self-deception or self-justification of lying (looking for the good side of why we do it and believing it).
On the other hand, it is relevant to highlight that cognitive dissonance It only exists when people are free to act/think in a certain way, in the event that they are forced to do so, that simple obligation already works as a justification and dissonance does not occur.
In any case, people do not usually feel comfortable with cognitive dissonances, so they try to avoid them using the means available to them. However, these circumstances can also be used in our favor for self-knowledge and improving the tools we have for our personal growth
Festinger’s theory of cognitive dissonance
The cognitive dissonance theory was first published by the American social psychologist Leon Festinger in your title A theory of cognitive dissonance (Cognitive dissonance theory) in 1957. Festinger’s theory states that the individual always wants to achieve consistency within himself and that it is normal for his opinions, knowledge and beliefs to be in line with how he acts. Despite this, says Festinger, it is more interesting to analyze exceptions to habitual behavior: when there is an inconsistency or internal dissonance that leads to psychological discomfort. The author of the theory of cognitive dissonance adds that people act in two different and complementary ways regarding it:
The dissonance being psychologically uncomfortable, causes the person to avoid it, but if they already feel it, try to reduce it to achieve maximum coherence.
In addition to trying to eliminate it, the person avoid with all your senses information and situations that could increase it and thus increase your discomfort.
Regarding the magnitude of this conflict between two opposing beliefs or behaviors, Festinger states that this dissociation will be greater the more important these elements are for the individual. That is, if they affect fundamental values, the cognitive dissonance will be great, while if it only affects small routine details, this dissonance will be minimal.
Likewise, the cognitive dissonance theory concludes that to eliminate or reduce it, it is necessary to analyze that magnitude.
“The presence of dissonance gives rise to pressures to reduce or eliminate it. The strength of the pressure exerted to reduce dissonance is a function of its magnitude.”
Thus, the greater the conflict, the greater the drive, motivation or action to avoid, reduce or eliminate it and return to feeling in harmony.
How to stop saying one thing and do another?
Festiger’s theory also includes some notes on how to reduce cognitive dissonance and adds that there are several conditions to achieve this. The effectiveness of efforts aimed at reducing dissonance depends on:
The resistance to change of these beliefs and the dissonant cognitive elements and the possibility of finding information and opinions that lead towards coherence.
The resistance of these cognitive elements to reality.
The dissonant element least resistant to dissonance of the two or several that come into collision is the one that will change.
Causes of Cognitive Dissonance
Contradictory Beliefs and Actions
One common cause of cognitive dissonance is the conflict between what we believe and how we act. For example, a person who values health but smokes may experience dissonance between their actions and their beliefs about healthy living.
Decision-Making and Justification
Cognitive dissonance often arises after making decisions, especially if the chosen option is less favorable than expected. To reduce dissonance, individuals may justify their decisions, downplay the negative aspects, or enhance the perceived benefits.
Social and Environmental Influences
External pressures, such as social norms or expectations, can also contribute to cognitive dissonance. For instance, individuals may conform to group beliefs or behaviors that conflict with their own values to fit in or gain approval.
Mechanisms for Reducing Dissonance
Changing Beliefs or Attitudes
One way to reduce cognitive dissonance is by altering one’s beliefs or attitudes to align with their actions. For example, someone who frequently eats junk food may convince themselves that it is not as unhealthy as previously thought.
Seeking New Information
Individuals might seek out information that supports their current behavior or belief, helping to resolve the conflict. This selective exposure to information can reinforce existing attitudes and reduce dissonance.
Minimizing the Importance of the Conflict
Another strategy is to downplay the significance of the dissonance. By trivializing the conflict or emphasizing other, more pressing concerns, individuals can reduce the psychological discomfort associated with cognitive dissonance.
Examples of Cognitive Dissonance
Health and Lifestyle Choices
A classic example of cognitive dissonance involves health and lifestyle choices. Someone who values fitness but engages in sedentary activities might experience discomfort and resolve it by rationalizing their behavior or modifying their lifestyle.
Environmental Concerns
Individuals who are environmentally conscious but engage in activities that harm the environment may experience dissonance. To alleviate this discomfort, they might adopt eco-friendly practices or downplay the impact of their actions.
Ethical Dilemmas
Cognitive dissonance can also arise in ethical situations. For example, a person who believes in honesty but lies in a particular situation might experience dissonance and address it by justifying the lie or altering their perception of honesty.
Cognitive Dissonance in Everyday Life
Personal Relationships
In personal relationships, cognitive dissonance can occur when one’s actions or beliefs about a partner clash with their actual behavior. To reduce this dissonance, individuals may change their beliefs about their partner or rationalize their behavior.
Workplace Behavior
In the workplace, cognitive dissonance can manifest when employees’ actions conflict with organizational values or their own professional standards. Employees may rationalize their behavior, alter their perceptions of the work environment, or seek to change the work culture.
Consumer Behavior
Consumers often experience cognitive dissonance after making a purchase, particularly if they encounter negative feedback about the product. To alleviate discomfort, they might seek positive reviews, justify the expense, or minimize the perceived flaws of the product.
Strategies for Managing Cognitive Dissonance
Self-Reflection and Awareness
Becoming aware of cognitive dissonance and reflecting on its causes can help individuals address and manage the discomfort. Self-awareness allows individuals to recognize conflicting beliefs and take steps to align their actions with their values.
Open Communication
In personal and professional relationships, open communication can help resolve cognitive dissonance by addressing discrepancies between beliefs and actions. Honest discussions can clarify expectations and align behaviors with shared values.
Seeking Professional Help
In cases where cognitive dissonance leads to significant psychological distress, seeking professional help from a therapist or counselor can provide strategies for managing and resolving the conflict. Therapy can offer tools for understanding and reconciling conflicting beliefs and behaviors.
Research on cognitive dissonance has explored various aspects, including its impact on decision-making, attitude change, and behavior modification. Studies have examined how cognitive dissonance influences individuals’ responses to conflicting information and experiences.
Practical Implications
Understanding cognitive dissonance has practical implications for various fields, including marketing, education, and therapy. By applying insights from cognitive dissonance research, professionals can develop strategies for influencing behavior, improving decision-making, and addressing conflicts.
Festinger’s experiment on cognitive dissonance
Leon Festinger and Merrill Carlsmith, both specialized in Social psychology carried out at Stanford University a cognitive dissonance experiment in which 71 students were involved. In the study they investigated the cognitive consequences of performing acts that you do not want and that radically clash with your thoughts and sensations.
For Festinger and Carlsmith’s experiment, young people were asked to perform a series of intentionally monotonous and meaningless tasks. Subsequently, they were asked if they had found it boring and, after analyzing the results, one group left and the remaining participants were offered the possibility of serving as trainers for the next group that was going to be in charge of carrying out the tasks. Their mission was to transmit the benefits of the tasks with passion and kindness, that is, they proposed to lie by paying one group 1 dollar and another 20 dollars. After a few days, they were asked in a survey what they thought of the activity as a whole. The results revealed that the only ones who found it funny were those who received a dollar.
The conclusion of study on cognitive dissonance by Festinger and Carlsmith reveals that in that group there was an example of dissonance since they really came to believe that the activity was fun: upon receiving so little compensation they had to change their thinking to justify their lie. On the other hand, participants who received $20 had an external justification for their behavior, consequently, they had less feeling of dissonance. In short, when there is no strong component of justification for the elements (ideas, attitudes, behaviors) it is easier to change them and adjust them with internal coherence.
Consonance and dissonance in psychology
He self-deception wave justification of lying It is, as we have seen, one of the most common resources when we experience cognitive dissonance. In psychology this is explained because having two contradictory thoughts (that we have done something wrong, that we have made a mistake or that we have attitudes contrary to our most solid beliefs) causes us discomfort and to alleviate it we look for reasons that justify our actions and thus reduce that anxiety.
Although these reasons are lies and lead us to self-justification in a more or less conscious way. Cognitive dissonance explains our tendency to self-deception. It is through self-deception that it is demonstrated that cognitive dissonance It happens in our brain to be able to reach harmony in our thoughts.
Cognitive dissonance in love
Within a relationship, a cognitive dissociation This can occur when your partner does something to hurt you in some way or another but you really love this person. Inside your brain the following cognitive dissonance occurs: I love my partner, I don’t love my partner’s behavior.
In the same way that happens with the others cognitive dissonances, our mind tries to create balance by trying to balance dissonance. Since the two thoughts cannot exist simultaneously, one of them has to change and it is usually the one that has the most strength in us. In this case, it is obvious that the ‘I love my couple‘. This can be a mistake when there really are serious problems, such as manipulation or abuse within a relationship.
Cognitive dissonance in marketing
In the field of marketing they are also used cognitive dissonances In this sector, what is conveyed to consumers is the concept that something is missing in your life or that it is not complete until you take a certain action (such as purchasing their products). On many occasions, advertisers use cognitive dissonance to highlight the differences that exist between an idealized version of ourselves and our real life.
Examples of cognitive dissonance
In everyday life there are countless examples of cognitive dissonance and not all of them have the same weight on people or cause the same stages of internal tension. There are examples of contradictory attitudes and beliefs that can be mild and with which the person learns to live without major problems and there are more complicated ones in which they can have important psychological consequences. In this case, people may need to look for solutions so as not to feel trapped in these dissonances, learn to understand them better and come to assume them naturally without causing added stress. In fact, some currents point out that dissonance sometimes helps to overcome bad times (or moments that have not been sought for and have been forced to live through, such as a breakup) by looking for justifications that make one suffer less.
For example, in the case of skipping a diet, which involves wanting to lose weight or lead a healthy life, eating a pizza and then feeling bad, the cognitive dissonance is not so great because it does not affect internal values. The same thing happens with going to the gym: if we have the firm intention of going regularly and we don’t follow through, the internal dissonance will appear. Our drive to reduce and subsequently avoid that cognitive dissonance will depend on the motivation that we have to lead that healthy life that we have thought about and planned. Self-justification in the form of “nothing happens for a day”, “you had more urgent things to do” will appear and, with it, peace of mind.
Self-deception in infidelity
One of the most representative examples of cognitive dissonance is that suffered by unfaithful people. On the one hand, they know that they are not acting correctly and that their thoughts, their moral conscience, the attitudes accepted in society and their actions do not follow any coherence. All of this causes them anxiety but at the same time they look for excuses and reasons to deceive themselves so that these discrepancies align. It is very common to look for problems in the couple, age, time or external causes such as alcohol to justify infidelity and thus feel better about themselves and what they are doing.
The dissonance about quitting smoking
The cognitive dissonance in the example of smokers It is one of the topics that is also discussed in Festinger’s theory of cognitive dissonance. The author analyzes why people continue smoking even though it is proven to be bad for their health. And basically, they do it because they find all kinds of justifications not to give up smoking although these are a clear example of self-deception.
According to Festinger, the reasons for not giving up this habit can be varied and range from the fact that they like smoking so much that it is worth taking the risk to the fact that the chances of getting sick are not that great (“it’s not going to happen to me”) or also that it is better to live doing what they like and that they cannot avoid all danger (“you have to die of something”), and finally that quitting smoking would imply other effects such as having a bad time or gaining weight, which would also be detrimental to health. The mind strives in every possible way to avoid cognitive dissonance
As we see, our cognitive dissonances They can affect our mental health. If you think you have been harmed by these thoughts, it is important that you consult with a professional psychologist. Cognitive dissonance in psychology is, therefore, a very common effect in which the contradictions of the human being play, and although they try to be coherent with their actions, they do not always succeed.
Cognitive dissonance is a fundamental aspect of human psychology that explains why our actions and beliefs often conflict. By understanding the mechanisms behind cognitive dissonance and its impact on behavior, we can gain insights into how people manage internal conflicts and make decisions. Recognizing and addressing cognitive dissonance can lead to more authentic and consistent behavior, improving personal and professional outcomes.
FAQs
What is cognitive dissonance?
Cognitive dissonance refers to the psychological discomfort experienced when holding conflicting beliefs, values, or attitudes. This discomfort motivates individuals to reduce the dissonance by changing beliefs, acquiring new information, or minimizing the conflict’s importance.
What causes cognitive dissonance?
Cognitive dissonance is caused by contradictions between beliefs and actions, decision-making processes, and external pressures or social influences. These conflicts create mental discomfort that individuals seek to resolve.
How can cognitive dissonance be reduced?
Cognitive dissonance can be reduced by changing beliefs or attitudes, seeking supportive information, or minimizing the importance of the conflict. These strategies help alleviate the psychological discomfort associated with dissonance.
Can you provide examples of cognitive dissonance?
Examples of cognitive dissonance include a person who values health but smokes, an environmentally conscious individual who engages in harmful activities, and someone who lies despite believing in honesty. Each scenario involves conflicting beliefs or actions.
How does cognitive dissonance affect decision-making?
Cognitive dissonance affects decision-making by influencing how individuals justify their choices and rationalize conflicting information. It can lead to changes in attitudes or behavior to align with decisions and reduce psychological discomfort.
I’m Emily Williams Jones, a psychologist specializing in mental health with a focus on cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and mindfulness. With a Ph.D. in psychology, my career has spanned research, clinical practice and private counseling. I’m dedicated to helping individuals overcome anxiety, depression and trauma by offering a personalized, evidence-based approach that combines the latest research with compassionate care.
