Cognitive DissonanceLinks to an external site. Theory, developed by Leon Festinger in 1957, is a cornerstone of social psychology. It posits that individuals experience psychological discomfort or dissonance when they hold two or more contradictory beliefs, values, or attitudes, especially when their actions contradict their beliefs. This dissonance is aversive, comparable to hunger or thirst, driving people to reduce or eliminate it to achieve consonance or psychological harmony.

When dissonance arises, individuals employ various strategies for dissonance reduction. They may change their attitudes or behaviors, justify their behaviors by changing the conflicting cognition, or downplay the importance of one of the dissonant elements. For instance, when people smoke despite knowing it's bad for their health, they might justify their smoking by arguing that it helps them relax or that it's too hard to quit, thus reducing the dissonance between their actions and the knowledge of the health risks.

The theory has broad applications and can be observed in everyday situations.

When someone buys an expensive car and then encounters information suggesting it was not the best value for money, they might experience dissonance. To reduce this discomfort, they might seek out positive reviews about the car to confirm their purchase decision was sound.

Festinger’s theory is significant because it extends beyond simple inconsistencies between belief and behavior. It also applies to decision-making processes, where making a choice can lead to dissonance between the chosen option and the forgone alternatives. This is known as post-decision dissonance and can lead to the overvaluation of the chosen alternative and devaluation of the rejected ones to justify the decision.

Three key points about Cognitive Dissonance Theory are:

• Individuals strive for internal consistency, and when faced with inconsistency, they experience psychological discomfort.
• Dissonance can be resolved by changing behaviors, altering beliefs, or rationalizing or trivializing the importance of conflicting information.
• The theory is a valuable tool for understanding how people deal with contradictions in their beliefs and actions, and it has implications for a wide range of behaviors, including consumer choices, belief perseverance, and attitude change.