By Kendra Cherry, MSEdKendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the “Everything Psychology Book.” President Biden’s debate performance was concerning, but replacing him may be difficult due to some strong psychological biases. Aversion is fundamental in the conditioning of a high-demand group member — and leads to dispensing of existence [6] — every genocide on record has the perpetrators referring to their victims as sub-human, or as vermin. Aversion to the out-group is vital to create a barrier protecting the gulled member from any criticism of the group.

• If the cognitions are relevant, they can be in agreement (consistent) or disagreement (inconsistent) with one another (Festinger, 1957).
• We may engage in behaviors or adopt attitudes to help relieve the discomfort caused by the conflict.
• Mere knowledge of the stereotypes about one’s group creates stereotype threat (Steele), undermining the performance of distracted, frustrated, targets of stereotyping.
• Brehm (1956) was the first to investigate the relationship between dissonance and decision-making.
• You don’t want to move, but your partner is excited about the promotion and you want them to be happy.
• It is an important model for therapy considerations in part because of the value it accords central processing.

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Effective communication can help reduce the dissonance that arises from brand-related conflicts. Cognitive dissonance can impact actions and decision-making at various levels of engagement. Here are a few examples of how cognitive dissonance can affect our everyday lives. Small decisions, for example, will cause less discomfort than major decisions. Buying the wrong toothpaste is less uncomfortable than buying the wrong car.

The Role of Theories in Cognitive Psychology

For instance, to reduce their discomfort, people can try not to connect meat to animals (Graça et al., 2014; Rothgerber, 2013) and avoid situations that may disrupt this dissociation (Holm, 2018; Schröder & McEachern, 2004). Unification of musical modes into a single family in the great civilizations of the Bronze Age, also could be viewed within the context of growing cognitive dissonance. Rational harmonization of the entire compass of all available music tones appears as a natural progression of human culture. Cognitive dissonance is the uncomfortable feeling that can occur when you have conflicting beliefs, values, or behaviors.

Understanding the effects of cognitive dissonance

It has been used to explain and predict the motivational nature of dissonance that led to attitude and behaviour changes at both the individual and organisational level. cognitive dissonance theory aims to explain the relationships between the motivation, perceptions and cognitions of an individual. Understanding our mechanisms with which we reduce dissonance and recognizing when it occurs are key to making informed and constructive decisions. Self-awareness and mindfulness practice empower us to notice inconsistencies in our thinking and find the space between dissonance triggers and our reaction so we can choose a response we are truly happy with. Relationships are typically built on shared attitudes, beliefs, and values.

In this book we concentrated on this negative aspect of cognitive dissonances and an ability to overcome them. It follows from language–cognition interaction model, considered in Chapter 3, Language and Wholeness of Psyche, that the ability to overcome cognitive dissonances must have originated from emotionality of the voice. The formula conveys that the greater the amount or importance of dissonant cognitions and the smaller the number or importance of consonant elements the greater the magnitude of dissonance one experiences.

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Does cognitive dissonance explain the link between attitudes and behaviors?

• The theory of cognitive dissonance and its major experimental paradigms are described in this article.
• The theory was based on the belief that people strive toward consistency within themselves and are driven to make changes to reduce or eliminate an inconsistency (Cooper, 2007).
• One of the features that distinguished cognitive dissonance theory from other consistency theories was the concept of dissonance magnitude.
• This is particularly true if the disparity between their beliefs and behaviors involves something that is central to their sense of self.
• However, cognitive dissonance can also be a tool for personal and social change.
• News magazines generally go more in-depth into stories than newspapers, trying to give the reader an understanding of the context surrounding important events, rather than just the facts.