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What Is Cognitive Dissonance?
Cognitive dissonance is the uncomfortable feeling when two ideas or beliefs conflict, or when attitude and behavior clash. People are motivated to reduce this discomfort by either changing their behavior or justifying their actions. Cognitive dissonance was described by Leon Festinger in the late fifties as being as uncomfortable as hunger or thirst. The theory has evolved to explain why individuals often resist changing their beliefs even when presented with evidence that contradicts them. An example is a smoker feeling dissonance between knowing smoking is harmful and continuing to smoke. The concept extends beyond individual behavior to societal and political realms, as seen in the justification for the Iraq War. The book 'Mistakes Were Made (But Not by Me)' by Carol Tavris and Elliot Aronson explores how individuals tend to ignore conflicting information to rationalize their decisions, leading to disastrous consequences in various aspects of life.