Cognitive Dissonance (What?!?!)

The concept of Cognitive Dissonance was one of the most fascinating topics in Undergraduate Psychology. The words look complicated, but the theory is simple---It's when a person feels uncomfortable due to having conflicting ideas in his/her head at the same time. When this happens, one must change his/her thoughts and actions in order to reach a state of Cognitive Equilibrium.

If anyone remembers anything about basic Psychology, you'll definitely recall Piaget's theories. According to Piaget, all organisms strive for equilibrium (balance) within themselves and the environment.  A being reaches equilibrium as he/she moves towards desired goals.

What are some examples and how is equilibrium achieved?

The best example of Cognitive Dissonance is smoking. People have an innate desire to live long, healthy lives; however, a smoker is engaging in a behavior that has been proven to cause health issues, and essentially shorten life. In order to feel comfortable with the behavior, people do one of three things:

• stop smoking
• discount the scientific evidence connected with smoking ( belief that "It's not true")
• create congnitive distortions or thinking errors, like justifying why he/she smokes, or making excuses for it

Another example (one that I see frequently in my practice) is one's desire to have financial security, but being partnered with someone who has no concept of that.

What are the options (to reduce the discomfort)?

• leave the relationship
• focus on the positives in the relationship, rather than the fact that the partner has financial instability

A third example is the concept of religion. Each follower firmily believes in his her version of the truth; when another view is presented, this causes discomfort.

The options to reduce the discomfort (dissonance)?

• leave the religion or change views
• discount any information from the other religion about "the truth"
• keep "sinning" and accept that everyone has an opinion!

In all of these examples, the person wants to feel at ease, so thoughts, beliefs, and actions have to occur in order to create comfort. 

Ms. Erin

Here are some books on the topic (besides a basic Psychology textbook):