Cognitive dissonance is the uncomfortable feelings an individual feels when one becomes consciously aware of discrepancy between one’s values and actions. In other words, it is the feeling that arises when one’s actions are opposite of the attitude one has about a certain topic.
Definition of Cognitive Dissonance
APA Dictionary of Clinical Psychology defines Cognitive Dissonance as “an unpleasant psychological state resulting from inconsistency between two or more elements in a cognitive system. It is presumed to involve a state of heightened arousal and to have characteristics similar to physiological drives.” These cognitive elements, as described by Smith et al. (2015), consist of beliefs, attitudes and actions that are important to a person. When one becomes aware of contradictions among them, it results in a “state of tension” or discomfort.
As can be seen in the second half of the definition given above, this feeling of discomfort is akin to physiological discomforts which maybe present e.g. when hungry or thirsty. The individual then, just like eating to reduce hunger, attempts to reduce this discomfort by changing the behaviour that caused the dissonance or does so by some means of justification of that behaviour (Aronson et al., 2019). This ultimately leads to a change in the attitude about that subject.
Example of Cognitive Dissonance
For instance, a young person starts smoking cigarettes and feels guilty about it. Later, in order to decrease the cognitive dissonance that causes the guilt, the habit is justified by saying that “It helps me to study better” or “Meeting people is easier when you smoke”! And since getting good marks or socializing is apparently more important, smoking a few cigarettes would be of no consequence!
Furthermore, most smokers hold the idea that they have the freedom of choice to quit smoking whenever they want. This causes further reduction in cognitive dissonance, as they do not see it as a problem any more nor as an actual addiction. This eventually reduce the cognitive dissonance regarding smoking and the attitude towards smoking also changes To a young person with dissonance resolved, smoking is now “cool!”
Dissonance from conflicting ideas
Cognitive Dissonance is not however limited to just the conflict between actions and attitudes. As Trevino describes, “It is the discomfort we feel when we face a situation in life where two beliefs or values conflict with each other” (2019). This definition points out that contradictory ideas competing with each other in our minds also causes the same discomfort. For example, in England I had become accustomed to driving by the law. This is something that I liked because it made driving safer and more convenient.
However, upon coming to Lahore, I came across a lot of drivers who did not obey the driving rules. In fact, I even met an accident when I allowed the traffic coming from my right to pass through and a rickshaw collided my car from behind. The cognitive dissonance created at this point was whether to continue holding the values and ideals of driving, like abroad or whether to drive like those in this city. After a period of dilemma, I chose the latter, justifying it by thinking that, “When in Rome, do as the Romans do!” thus reducing the dissonance and altering my attitude towards driving laws in the process. Since then, I have received a couple of fines from the traffic police as well due to driving the same way I had criticised others before.
Cognitive Dissonance when making a decision
The factor which plays the most influential role during decision making is the “Freedom of Choice.” Whenever faced with a choice to decide between two or more alternatives, one tends to see the positives of both choices and this causes stress regarding which option to go for. This makes the decision process difficult, especially when the stakes of the decision are high.
Shultz et al. (1999) describe the psychology of this dilemma as, “choosing between alternatives creates cognitive dissonance because the chosen alternative is never perfect, and the rejected alternative often has desirable aspects that are necessarily forgone as soon as an irreversible choice is made.”
Dissonance occurs in decisions related to daily life choices. For example, which restaurant to go to, which movie to see at the cinema, where to go for holiday, etc. It is the tendency of weighing the benefits of each choice and not wanting to miss out on it due to taking the other choice.
Example of Cognitive Dissonance and how one reduces it
Cognitive dissonance is most evident for me when I have to make a costly purchase, e.g. When I wanted to buy my first smart phone, the options were between buying an IPhone or an Android Phone. Both had their pros and cons and both would require a significant investment of money. The decision about which phone to buy caused cognitive dissonance in me. Eventually, I started justifying myself about the merits of buying an Android phone and how its positive qualities suited my needs more. This resulted in a decrease in the dissonance and I made the purchase. Afterwards and to this day, I always take a strong stance on how Android phones are better than iPhones! In other words my attitudes towards how I see Android and iPhone respectively had changed as a result of the cognitive dissonance I had faced before making the purchase.
How to benefit from Cognitive Dissonance
It might seem from this post that dissonance is a negative experience and only results in stress. However, that doesn’t always have to be the case. Dissonance can also help you to change in a positive and powerful way as well.
To benefit from Dissonance, you need to be aware of two things. One is to be aware of your values and the other is to be aware of dissonance as you feel it. When the latter happens, ask yourself if your actions are in line with your values. If not, then change your choices or actions and work towards changing your habits. This way, you will start to live in a way that better represents your values. That will not only reduce the dissonance, but also make you a better person.
References
1) VandenBos, G. R. (ed.). (2013). APA dictionary of clincial psychology. Washington: American Psychological Association.
2) Smith, E. R., Mackie, D. M. and Claypool, H. M. (2019) Social psychology (4rth edition). London: Psychology Press
3) Aronoson, E., Wilson, T. D & Sommers, S. R. (2019) Social psychology (10th edition). New York: Pearson.
4) Trevino A. J. (2019) Investigating social problems (2nd edition). London:Sage Publications.
5) Shultz CJ, Holbrook MB. Marketing and the Tragedy of the Commons: A Synthesis, Commentary, and Analysis for Action. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing. 1999;18(2):218-229. doi:10.1177/074391569901800208
