Real-Life Examples of Cognitive Dissonance

This issue could be fixed by redefinition of core concepts and a paradigm change for a systematic manipulation of inconsistency. The easiest way to achieve this would be to compare counter-attitudinal tasks to neutral or pro-attitudinal tasks. Some recent paradigms have indeed shifted their focus to the manipulation of inconsistency.

• Because a better understanding of the methodological flaws is important to future theoretical progress, we suggested some ways to address these shortcomings.
• They committed to a belief in the prophecy but new information, the aliens not coming, caused them to question their commitment.
• This is to say, understanding and looking for cognitive dissonance in our decision-making can help us realize when our decision to reject rationalize, or avoid new information is caused by it.

Indeed, they imply that individuals can consciously and accurately assess and report their emotions. Moreover, there is a lack of standardization in the field in the instruments that are used. For instance, even when referring to the same scale, scholars use different methods of scoring, different instructions, and even different sets of items. This absence of standard rules favors HARKing (Kerr, 1998) in the choice of indicators for CDS.

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In terms of Hafer and Gosse’s (2010) organization of BJW-defense strategies, Warner et al.’s (2012) temporal distance variable probably influenced endorsement of different strategies through the availability principle. That is, temporal distance might have affected the availability of BJW-defense strategies that required different modes of thinking. In Hafer and Gosse (2010), we discuss a number of potential situational determinants of how people defend BJW in the face of threat. Remember that cognitive dissonance is just the discomfort we feel when our beliefs or attitudes contradict each other. What can be mitigated, is our natural response to this discomfort (ie. how we approach dissonance reduction).

Here’s what you need to know about cognitive dissonance, and how to seek the proper care. We benefit, though, from approaching these inconsistencies with curiosity and grace, even when we want to change them. Instead of feeling defensive, dig into the information that your response gives you. Understanding what caused the dissonance can help you figure out the best way to address it.

Examples of Cognitive Dissonance

The investor will have to find a way to reconcile these to be at peace with whatever decision he reaches. He may decide to discard his belief about selling in May, to revise it into a general rule with specific exceptions, or to stick with his prior belief and downplay the value of his broker’s advice or trustworthiness. Economists argue that it is irrational to continue throwing money into an investment, or any project, that is failing and call doing so the “sunk cost fallacy”.

Over time, living out of integrity with our values begins to take its toll on our psychological well-being and mental health. Other times, you may try to rationalize the inconsistent thought or behavior so it appears to be more consistent with your beliefs. “In order to resolve the conflict, you may change your behavior or you may even change your attitude to be more flexible,” Dr. Leikam says. In other words, you’ll rationalize what you did and talk yourself into believing the behavior wasn’t all that different from your usual beliefs. Rejecting, rationalizing, or avoiding information that conflicts with our beliefs can lead us to make poor decisions.

Real-Life Examples of Cognitive Dissonance

For instance, the hypocrisy paradigm (Aronson, 1992; Stone and Fernandez, 2008; Priolo et al., 2019) compares inconsistent conditions to neutral or consistent ones. Likewise, some new paradigms focus on minimal inconsistencies, that is, inconsistencies that involve very few cognitions other than the inconsistency per se (e.g., Levy et al., 2017), and compare inconsistent conditions treatment for cognitive dissonance to neutral ones. These new paradigms are encouraging, but researchers in the field must still clearly realize that varying factors such as commitment is not the same as varying inconsistency. Refining the terminology used in CDT could not only clarify the theory, but also impact the whole conception of the theory regarding ways to cope with “dissonance” (Vaidis and Bran, 2018).

Saul Mcleod, Ph.D., is a qualified psychology teacher with over 18 years experience of working in further and higher education. He has been published in peer-reviewed journals, including the Journal of Clinical Psychology. According to Festinger, there are a few ways that a person https://ecosoberhouse.com/ might resolve this dissonance. The minute we make any decision—I think COVID-19 is serious; no, I’m sure it is a hoax—we begin to justify the wisdom of our choice and find reasons to dismiss the alternative. Is commitment necessary for the arousal of informational dissonance?

Cognitive dissonance is a theory in social psychology first proposed by Leon Festinger. According to this theory, cognitive dissonance describes the discomfort experienced when two cognitions are incompatible with each other. Cognitive dissonance is the mental discomfort that results from holding two conflicting beliefs, values, or attitudes. People tend to seek consistency in their attitudes and perceptions, so this conflict causes unpleasant feelings of unease or discomfort.