What is cognitive dissonance? What are some types of cognitive dissonance effects? Give examples.

What is cognitive dissonance? What are some types of cognitive dissonance effects? Give examples.

Cognitive dissonance is tension that arises when one is simultaneously aware of two inconsistent cognitions, as when we realized that we have, with little justification, acted contrary to our attitude. Cognitive dissonance theory proposes that we act to reduce such tension, as when we adjust our attitude to correspond with our actions.

Cognitive dissonance is perhaps the most studied form of attitude change. In general, cognitive dissonance is that uncomfortable feeling we get when our attitudes and behaviours don't match (or when we have conflicting attitudes). This feeling of dissonance is not fun, and we are motivated to reduce it. To reduce the feeling, we can either change our attitudes, change our behaviours, or we can reduce the importance of the attitudes.

It is interesting because fundamentally cognitive dissonance leads to self-persuasion -- you recognize a disjoint between your attitude and behaviour and work to change that.

Example: 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 man who places a value on being environmentally responsible just purchased a new car that he later discovers does not get great gas mileage.