Very often you can hear the phrase “cognitive dissonance has arisen,” what kind of phenomenon is this? Let's try to find out the meaning of the expression and understand in what situations it can be used.

The concept of “cognitive dissonance” is based on two Latin lexemes – cognitio - “cognition” and dissonantia - “dissonance”. To put it simply, a person speaking about cognitive dissonance states that feels disharmony, or he's just very uncomfortable.

This is a special state of mind in which a person feels a significant internal contradiction when he has to face something that does not correspond to his moral principles, or simply goes beyond understanding, that is, a certain conflict situation is created.

An elementary example: you may know a person, but you have no idea that he or she has a twin. And then one day you meet him on the street next to his brother.

A contradiction arises subconsciously when you cannot immediately realize that there are two such people, one of which is visually familiar to you, but as a person one of them is a complete stranger. Here is the feeling of this contradiction and the sudden emergence need to clarify the situation called cognitive dissonance.

Simply put, cognitive dissonance is always conflict between existing ideas and new information received, does not fit with the usual settings, or is it a discrepancy between experience and skills and the objective situation.

Festinger's theory

In the mid-twentieth century, the American psychologist Lyon Festinger developed the theory of cognitive dissonance, which allowed psychology to explain the origin and development of many conflict situations. It is extremely necessary to be able to operate with this knowledge when working with people.

The theory is designed to study the influence of cognitive dissonance on personality, all types of such conditions, as well as methods of getting rid of discomfort.

Festinger created two options his theory:

• It is common for a person, in the presence of cognitive dissonance, to begin to act in order to overcome it, making every effort to avoid a state of internal lack of comfort;
• the personality will try by any means, even subconsciously, to avoid such situations and factors that increase dissonance.

In principle, the whole theory lies in these two phrases.

Examples of cognitive dissonance

It happens that when you meet someone, you create an impression about your interlocutor. You can consider him kind, always calm, meek. That's why the perception of it a priori positive for us. Suddenly you see him on the street, talking with his wife in a raised voice.

At the same time, he not only screams, but also uses profanity, behaves unusually aggressively, and his facial expressions change radically, as if the good-natured mask has disappeared, and you are observing an evil creature unfamiliar to you. So it turns out that your the idea of ​​a person does not correspond to reality, and your inner “I” is not always able to immediately come to terms with what you see.

By the way, our ancestors, not yet knowing such a term as “cognitive dissonance,” characterized this very striking example in the proverb “there are devils in still waters.”

Or here’s another example, you often serve the same give alms to a beggar, watch him begging. But one day, passing by at another time, you see a beggar collecting his things and getting behind the wheel of a car, because for him this is just a business that brings in a good income.

This discrepancy between the idea of ​​poor people begging and having cars at the same time provokes real cognitive dissonance.

This phenomenon also occurs when we have to deviate from our own principles under the pressure of circumstances. In such cases it may happen disagreement between action and belief.

How to get rid of cognitive dissonance?

Actually completely get rid of this conflict it is possible only by removing its root cause, which is practically impossible, since we initially have certain experience and established beliefs, and reshaping ourselves to suit the circumstances is not always justified, but it is possible.

But there is a possibility alleviate emerging contradictions:

• change your behavior when you think you are forced to do the wrong thing;
• convince yourself of the opposite, that is, justify your actions;
• engage in filtering of incoming information, simply weed out everything that may carry negative emotions;
• think about the situation and build new lines of behavior.

The advice seems simple, but in practice, their implementation is often complicated by our own internal attitudes. Avoid conflicting information and you can protect yourself from cognitive dissonance.

“It is not the strongest or the smartest who survive, but those who best adapt to change.”
Charles Darwin

Psychologists call the state of an individual caused by contradictions in his mind between several ideas and concepts, accompanied by a feeling of internal discomfort, cognitive dissonance.

This term was coined in 1944, it was first voiced by Fritz Heider, and the author of the theory of the same name, formulated later, was the American Leon Festinger. In his work devoted to the study of this phenomenon, the psychologist defined a person’s state of mind, outlined ways out of a psychological crisis, and also examined the most common examples of behavioral reactions associated with cognitive dissonance.

Cognitive dissonance is a condition characterized by a collision in a person’s mind of conflicting knowledge, beliefs, and behavioral attitudes regarding some object or phenomenon.

The essence of the theory boils down to the following: a person’s beliefs largely determine his actions in life situations and determine his position on most significant issues. Thus, it is impossible to interpret them only as a sum of knowledge, since they are motivational factors. Festinger took two behavioral hypotheses as a basis, according to which an individual will always be strive to overcome psychological discomfort caused by the discrepancy between his own beliefs and personal experience with information received from outside. Moreover, in the future a person will try in every possible way to avoid situations that cause such a state.

An experiment to test the theory in action was conducted by J. Brehm, who invited a group of subjects to evaluate various household appliances. After this, participants were allowed to take any item of their choice as a reward. A repeated survey showed that people spoke highly of the products they had chosen, while they tried to find shortcomings in the rejected ones. From Brem's point of view, this behavior well illustrates the theory of cognitive scientists. The subjects, having made their choice, tried in every possible way to justify it. The positive aspects of the chosen subject were exaggerated, while the negative ones, on the contrary, were smoothed out.

To people far from science, the theory of cognitive dissonance seems to be something not very clear. In fact, behind the complex terms lies a phenomenon that each of us, without knowing it, encounters almost every day. Let's try to explain what it is in simple words, with clear examples.

The term “cognitive” in psychology is usually understood as knowledge, and the term “dissonance” is used by musicians to denote a discordant sound. Thus, cognitive dissonance is the discrepancy between two ideas in the mind of an individual. To eliminate the emotional distress caused by such a situation, it is necessary for the cognitions to sound in unison. This can only be achieved by eliminating contradictions.

Smokers serve as a clear illustration. Any reasonable person understands that bad habit causes irreparable harm to health. Awareness of this fact undoubtedly has a depressing effect on the psyche. But at the same time, one is doing everything possible to get rid of the addiction, while the other chooses the path of least resistance, convincing himself that nothing bad will happen to him.

Examples are provided to support this famous people: Fidel Castro, who never let go of his cigar, lived to a ripe old age. Based on this, it is concluded that the harm from smoking is greatly exaggerated. Inner peace is achieved without much effort, by simply eliminating “extra” information.

Of particular interest is the fact that people are ready to go far in justifying their actions and this is much easier for them than admitting they are wrong. Festinger quickly realized that most of the mysterious behavior patterns of people are nothing more than a consequence of cognitive dissonance and the desire to deal with it. The practical conclusion that follows from Festinger's theory is that most of us are easily manipulated by other people or the media. This can only be avoided by working on oneself, careful introspection, and developing willpower.

What are the causes of cognitive dissonance?

A state of cognitive dissonance can occur in any of us and, unfortunately, this happens more often than we would like. By building psychological defense, a person filters out information that does not fit into the framework of his worldview. Everything that you don’t want to hear automatically goes into the category: “this can’t be.”

Perhaps, in some cases, maintaining peace of mind at the expense of ignoring the truth is acceptable. But in general, such behavior leads to moral degradation, since a person becomes easily controlled. Logical thinking and analysis are replaced by an emotional component, under the influence of which decisions are made. For the sake of maintaining my convictions and peace of mind an individual easily refuses knowledge that does not fit into his value system.

Often, cognitive dissonance is associated with certain obligations that we place on ourselves, guided by personal beliefs or public morality. A woman living with a tyrant husband convinces herself that she is doing this for the sake of her children, who should have a father. The wife of an alcoholic or reveler endures infidelity and binges for the sake of the status of a married lady, believing that society’s attitude towards “divorced women” is negative.

In fact, the reason lies much deeper, in unwillingness and inability to accept independent solutions, bear responsibility for them. Many choose to deny obvious facts for the sake of compliance with imposed standards. People deceive themselves, often becoming victims of other people's manipulations.

How to get rid of cognitive dissonance?

Psychological discomfort causes unpleasant sensations, which can result in nervousness, loss of appetite, and loss of interest in life. A person’s first reaction will be a desire to reduce tension or get rid of it altogether. What needs to be done to find peace of mind?

Festinger's theory of cognitive dissonance offers several options for overcoming a psychological crisis:

1. A radical change in behavior. This may include, among other things, refusal of actions or intentions that contradict moral principles and beliefs;
2. Changing your personal attitude to what is happening, for cases when circumstances do not depend on you;
3. Using dosed information to create a positive attitude. No need to accumulate negative emotions, try to find the maximum advantages in the situation.

Example

Let's imagine an ordinary life situation: You have a great job, but you’re unlucky with your boss. This person’s behavior can hardly be called correct. His rudeness infuriates him, but it is impossible to change his superiors without changing his place of service.

You have three options:

• resign;
• stop paying attention to offensive attacks;
• convince yourself that a good team and a big salary outweigh the “minus” of an unbalanced boss.

Each of them solves your problem in its own way. However, the first creates difficulties with searching new job, therefore not always acceptable. The second and third are softer, you don’t lose anything, you even gain. But in this case, you will have to work on yourself to change your attitude towards what is happening.

How to deal with the problem?

One of the most accessible ways to cope with the phenomenon of dissonance and the consequences associated with it is to accept the current circumstances and adapt to them. “If life gives you a sour lemon, make delicious lemonade,” advised Dale Carnegie. There is no point in digesting what has already happened over and over again, worrying, asking the question: “Did I do the right thing?” It would be wiser to make the most of the current situation for yourself or consider it as a lesson for the future.

The famous Soviet actor Vaclav Dvorzhetsky spent part of his adult life in Stalin's camps. When asked how he managed to survive in such difficult conditions, maintaining health and love of life, he replied that he remembers his stay in prison as best years of your life. Despite everyday difficulties, backbreaking work and lack of normal nutrition, there he was surrounded by people close in their way of thinking, that is, in a state of mental comfort. In his memoirs, Dvorzhetsky wrote that his rich imagination helped him cope with the situation. Every time he went to work or fell asleep in a barracks, he imagined himself in a completely different environment, carried away in his dreams away from the surrounding reality.

Learn to admit your own mistakes

The state of cognitive dissonance in most cases arises due to a person’s reluctance to admit his own mistakes. Many consider their rightness to be undeniable; they are sure that everything should be just the way they imagine it. Such a life position does little to promote happiness and spiritual harmony.

The task of the individual is comprehensive development, which is impossible without broadening one’s horizons. The world around us is full of various phenomena, events and facts that may contradict our beliefs. The only right decision will be to accept it this way, to learn to look from different angles, without focusing only on your knowledge.

Other examples of cognitive dissonance

One of the most common cases is unexpected changes weather conditions . And it’s true, very often people make plans for the weekend, confident that the weather will be sunny and clear. But waking up in the morning, they find a cloudy, cloudy sky, or even rain or downpour. And the dissonance that arises is completely justified - the person was firmly confident in the future, but the unexpected happened. It’s easy to get out of this situation – you just need to not change your plans and accept that a great trip is possible even in cloudy weather.

Also a very common situation arises regarding people miscellaneous social level . It happens that a dirty tramp gets thoughtful and throws the wrapper in the trash, but a respectable young man does not attach any importance to this and throws it at his feet. Why not dissonance?

A person of full physique may develop a desire to lose weight and get his body in good shape, but he will come to the realization that he will have to completely change his lifestyle, start systematically exercising and eating normally. This will do at odds with his beliefs, lifestyle. And the way out of this situation is to change life principles, because for the sake of some goals you have to change your own foundations.

May experience cognitive dissonance and ideas about some people. For example, a person whom you know very well - quiet and modest, in some situation shows you his other side - violent and aggressive. This will greatly affect awareness, and cognitive dissonance will arise. But we should still accept that people are versatile and, if we do not know some of their characteristics, this does not mean that they do not exist at all.

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Cognitive dissonance is a negative condition in which individuals experience mental discomfort caused by confrontation in their minds of conflicting ideas, values, knowledge, worldviews, ideas, beliefs, behavioral attitudes or reactions of an emotional nature.

The concept of cognitive dissonance was first proposed by L. Festinger, a specialist in the field of psychology of thought control. In his research during the analysis of the individual’s worldview, he was based on the principles of balance. He began his theory with the postulate that individuals strive for a certain coherence as a necessary internal state. When contradictions arise among individuals between their knowledge base and actions, they strive to somehow explain such a contradiction, as a result of which they present it as a “non-contradiction” in order to achieve a sense of internal cognitive coherence.

Causes of cognitive dissonance

The following factors are identified that cause a state of cognitive dissonance, as a result of which individuals often feel internal dissatisfaction:

Logical inconsistency;

The dissimilarity of one person’s opinion with the generally accepted one;

Reluctance to follow cultural norms established in a certain territory, where traditions are sometimes guided more than by legislation;

A conflict between an already experienced experience and a similar new situation.

Cognitive personality dissonance arises due to the inadequacy of the individual’s two cognitions. A person, having information on a problem, is forced to ignore it when making a decision and, as a result, a discrepancy or dissonance appears between the individual’s ideas and his actual actions. As a result of such behavior, a change in certain ideas of the individual is observed. Such a change is justified based on the vital need of a person to maintain the consistency of his own knowledge.

That is why humanity is ready to justify its own mistakes, because an individual who has committed an offense tends to look for excuses for himself in his thoughts, while gradually shifting his own attitudes regarding what happened in the direction that what happened in reality is not so terrible. In this way, the individual “manages” his own thinking in order to minimize confrontation within himself.

Modern theory Festinger's cognitive dissonance finds its purpose in the study and interpretation of contradictions that arise both in individual human individuals and in groups of people.

Everyone, over a certain period of time, acquires a certain amount life experience, but overcoming the time limit, he must function according to the circumstances in which he exists, contrary to the acquired knowledge. This will cause psychological discomfort. And to alleviate such discomfort, the individual has to find a compromise.

Cognitive dissonance in psychology is an attempt to explain the motivation of human actions, their actions in a variety of everyday situations. And emotions are the main motive for appropriate behavior and actions.

In the concept of cognitive dissonance, logically contradictory knowledge is assigned the status of motivation, which is designed to ensure the elimination of the emerging feeling of discomfort when faced with inconsistencies through the transformation of existing knowledge or social prescriptions.

The author of the theory of cognitive dissonance, L. Festinger, argued that this state is the strongest motivation. According to the classical formulation of L. Festinger, cognitive dissonance is a discrepancy between thoughts, attitudes, information, etc., while the denial of one concept comes from the existence of another.

The concept of cognitive dissonance characterizes methods for eliminating or smoothing out such contradictions and demonstrates how an individual does this in typical cases.

Cognitive dissonance - examples from life: two individuals entered the institute, one of whom was a medalist, and the second was a C student. Naturally teaching staff expects excellent knowledge from a medalist, but expects nothing from a C student. Dissonance occurs when such a C student answers the question more competently, more comprehensively and completely than the medalist.

Cognitive dissonance theory

Most motivational theories were first discovered in the works of ancient philosophers. Today there are already several dozen such theories. In modern psychological teachings about motivation, claiming to explain human behavior, the prevailing approach today is the cognitive approach to the motivational sphere of the individual, in which phenomena associated with the understanding and knowledge of the individual are of particular importance. The main postulate of the authors of cognitive concepts was the point of view that the behavioral reactions of subjects are guided by knowledge, judgments, attitudes, ideas, views about what is happening in the world, opinions about the causes and their consequences. Knowledge is not a simple collection of data. An individual’s ideas about the world predetermine and construct future behavior. Everything an individual does and how he does it depends not so much on fixed needs, deep aspirations and eternal desires, but on relatively changeable ideas about reality.

Cognitive dissonance in psychology is a state of discomfort in the individual’s psyche, provoked by the confrontation of conflicting ideas in his mind. The socio-psychological study of cognitions was developed to explain changes in cognitions (opinions, attitudes, attitudes) as a method of eliminating logical conflict situations.

Cognitive personality dissonance is characterized by specific feature, which consists in linking together and, in other words, the emotional and cognitive components of attitudes.

The state of cognitive dissonance arises as a result of the individual’s awareness that his actions do not have sufficient grounds, that is, he acts in confrontation with his own attitudes and attitudes, when the personal meaning of behavior is unclear or unacceptable for individuals.

The concept of cognitive dissonance argues that, of the possible methods of interpreting and evaluating such a situation (objects) and one’s own actions in it, an individual gives preference to those that generate a minimum of anxiety and remorse.

Cognitive dissonance - examples from life were given by A. Leontiev: revolutionary prisoners who were forced to dig holes certainly perceived such actions as meaningless and unpleasant, a decrease in cognitive dissonance occurred after the prisoners reinterpreted their own actions - they began to think that they were digging the grave of tsarism. This idea contributed to the emergence of an acceptable personal meaning for the activity.

Cognitive dissonance can arise as a consequence of past actions. For example, when an individual in a specific situation has committed an act, which then provokes the appearance of remorse in him, as a result of which amendments can be made to the interpretation of circumstances and their assessment, which eliminate the grounds for experiencing this state. In most cases, this turns out to be simple, since life circumstances are often ambiguous. For example, when a smoker learns about the discovery of a cause-and-effect relationship between the occurrence of cancer and smoking, he has many tools aimed at reducing cognitive dissonance. Thus, in accordance with cognitive theories of motivation, an individual’s behavior depends on his worldview and cognitive assessment of the situation.

How to get rid of cognitive dissonance? Often, external attribution or justification is used to eliminate cognitive dissonance. Responsibility for actions can be removed by recognizing them as forced measures (forced, ordered) or justification can be based on self-interest (they paid well). In cases where there are few reasons for external justification, another method is used - changing attitudes. For example, if an individual was forced to lie, then unconsciously he amends his original judgment about reality, adjusting it to a “false statement”, as a result of which it is subjectively transformed into the “truth”.

According to a number of postulates, this concept converges with the theories of cognitive balance and attribution introduced by the Austrian-American psychologist F. Heider, who based his theories on the principles of Gestalt psychology.

In the variety of situations that arise in everyday life, dissonance can increase or decrease. The degree of its expression depends on the problematic tasks that face the individual.

Dissonance occurs under any conditions if an individual needs to make a choice. At the same time, its level will increase depending on the degree of importance of this choice for a person.

The presence of dissonance, regardless of the level of its intensity, forces the individual to free himself from it one hundred percent or significantly reduce it, if for some reason this is not yet possible.

To reduce dissonance, an individual can use four methods:

Change your own behavior;

Transform one of the cognitions, in other words, reassure yourself of the opposite;

Filter incoming information regarding a specific problem;

Apply the criterion of truth to the information received, admit mistakes and act in accordance with a new, more specific and clear understanding of the problem.

Sometimes an individual can prevent the occurrence of this condition and its consequences of internal discomfort by trying to avoid information about his problem, which comes into confrontation with existing data.

The filtering mechanisms of personally significant information for individuals are well described in the theories of Sigmund and Anna Freud about psychological “defenses.” The contradiction that arises in the minds of subjects regarding significant deep-personal themes is, according to S. Freud, a key mechanism in the formation of neuroses.

If dissonance has already arisen, the subject can prevent its increase by adding one or more elements of cognition to the cognitive scheme to replace the existing negative element that provokes dissonance. Consequently, the subject will be interested in finding information that will approve his choice and weaken or eliminate this condition completely, while it is necessary to avoid sources of information that can provoke its increase. Often, such actions of subjects can lead to negative results - the individual may develop prejudice or fear of dissonance, which is a dangerous factor affecting the views of the individual.

There may be contradictory relationships between several cognitive components. When dissonance occurs, individuals strive to reduce its intensity, avoid it, or completely get rid of it. Such aspiration is justified by the fact that the subject sets his goal to transform his own behavior, to find new information that would relate to the situation or phenomenon that gave rise to dissonance.

It is completely understandable that it is easier for an individual to agree with the current state of affairs, adjusting his own internal ideas in accordance with the current situation, instead of lengthy reflection on the problem of the correctness of his actions. Often this negative state appears as a result of making serious decisions. Preferring one of the alternatives (equally tempting) is not easy for an individual, but having finally made such a choice, the individual often begins to become aware of “opposing cognitions,” in other words, the positive aspects of the version from which he turned away, and the not entirely positive aspects of the alternative, with which he agreed to.

To weaken or completely suppress dissonance, the individual seeks to exaggerate the importance of the judgment he has accepted, while at the same time, downplaying the significance of the rejected one. As a result of this behavior, the other alternative loses all attractiveness in his eyes.

Cognitive dissonance and complete (a state of oppressive tension, feelings of hopelessness, anxiety) have the same adaptive strategies for getting rid of a problematic situation, since both dissonance and frustration cause in subjects a feeling of disharmony, which they try with all their might to avoid. However, along with this, dissonance and the situation that provoked it can also be frustration.

Festinger's cognitive dissonance

Cognitive motivational theories, which are being intensively developed today, originate from the well-known works of L. Festinger.

The theory of cognitive dissonance in Festinger's work has two fundamental advantages that distinguish a scientific concept from a non-scientific one. The first advantage lies, to use Einstein's formulation, in its reliance on the most general foundations. From such general grounds, Festinger deduced consequences that can be subjected to experimental verification. This is the second advantage of Festinger's teaching.

Leon Festinger's cognitive dissonance involves some kind of confrontation between several cognitions. He interprets cognition quite broadly. In his understanding, cognition is any knowledge, belief, opinion regarding the environment, one’s own behavioral reactions or oneself. A negative state is experienced by the subject as a feeling of discomfort, from which he strives to get rid of and restore internal harmony. It is this desire that is considered the most powerful motivating factor in human behavior and his worldview.

A state of contradiction between cognition X and cognition Y arises if cognition Y does not emerge from cognition X. Consonance between X and Y, in turn, is observed when Y emerges from X. The individual always strives to achieve internal consistency, that is, strives for the state consonance. So, for example, an individual who is inclined to be overweight decided to stick to a diet (X-cognition), but is not able to deny himself a chocolate bar (Y-cognition). An individual who wants to lose weight is not recommended to consume chocolate. This is where the dissonance lies. Its origin motivates the subject to reduce, in other words, to eliminate, reduce dissonance. To solve this problem, an individual has three main ways:

Transform one of the cognitions (in a specific example, stop eating chocolate or end a diet);

Minimize the significance of cognitions included in the confrontation relationship (decide which of overweight is not a major sin or that eating chocolate does not cause significant weight gain);

Add new cognition (a chocolate bar increases weight, but at the same time, it has a beneficial effect on the intellectual sphere).

The last two methods are a kind of adaptive strategy, that is, the individual adapts while maintaining the problem.

Cognitive dissonance requires reduction and motivates it, leading to a modification of relationships, and then behavior.

Below are two of the most famous effects associated with the emergence and elimination of cognitive dissonance.

The first occurs in a situation of behavior that conflicts with the individual’s evaluative attitude towards something. If a subject agrees to do something without coercion that is in any way inconsistent with his attitudes or point of view, and if such behavior does not have a convincing external justification (monetary reward), then subsequently attitudes and views are transformed in the direction of greater compliance with behavior. In the case when the subject agrees to actions that are slightly contrary to his moral values or moral guidelines, then the result of this will be the emergence of dissonance between moral beliefs and knowledge about behavior, and in the future the beliefs will change in the direction of lowering morality.

The second effect obtained from research on cognitive dissonance is called post-acceptance dissonance. difficult decision. A decision is called difficult when the alternative phenomena or objects from which a choice has to be made are equally attractive. In such cases, most often, after making a choice, that is, after making a decision, the individual experiences cognitive dissonance, which is a consequence of the resulting contradictions. Indeed, in the chosen option, on the one hand, there are negative aspects, and in the rejected option, on the other hand, positive traits. In other words, the accepted alternative is partly bad, but still accepted. The rejected option is partly good, but rejected. During the experimental analysis of the results of a difficult decision, it was revealed that over time after making such a decision, the subjective attractiveness of the chosen alternative increases and the subjective attractiveness of the rejected one decreases.

The individual is thus freed from cognitive dissonance. In other words, the person convinces himself about the chosen option that this option is not just slightly better than the rejected one, but significantly better. By such actions the subject seems to expand alternatives. From here, we can conclude that complex solutions increase the likelihood of behavioral responses consistent with the chosen option.

For example, when an individual was tormented for a long time by the choice between cars of brand “A” and “B”, but in the end gives preference to brand “B”, then in the future the chance of choosing cars of brand “B” will be slightly higher than before purchasing it. This is due to the increase in the relative attractiveness of B-brand cars.

Leon Festinger's cognitive dissonance is a specific variation problem situations. Therefore, it is necessary to determine with the help of which protective mechanisms and non-defensive adaptive tools an adaptive strategy is carried out, if it is used to rid the individual of dissonances. This strategy may be unsuccessful and cause increased dissonance, giving rise to new frustrations.

There are also forces that resist reducing dissonance. For example, changes in behavior and judgments about such behavior often change, but sometimes this is difficult or involves loss. It is difficult, for example, to give up habitual actions, since the individual likes them. New cognitive dissonance and complete frustration may arise as a result of the transformation of other variations of habitual behavior, which entails material and financial losses. There are forms of behavior that generate dissonance that the individual is not able to modify (phobic reactions).

In conclusion, we can say that Festinger's theory of cognitive dissonance is quite simple and summary looks like this:

Relationships of incongruity may exist between cognitive elements;

The emergence of dissonance contributes to the emergence of a desire to reduce its impact and avoid its further growth;

Manifestations of such a desire include a transformation of behavioral response, a modification of attitude, or a conscious search for new opinions and information regarding the judgment or phenomenon that gave rise to the dissonance.

Examples of cognitive dissonance

What is cognitive dissonance? The definition of this concept lies in the understanding that every action of an individual that goes against his knowledge or beliefs will provoke the emergence of dissonance. It does not matter whether such actions are forced or not.

How to get rid of cognitive dissonance? In order to understand this, we can consider behavioral strategies using examples. This condition can be caused by the simplest everyday situations. For example, an individual stands at a bus stop and sees two subjects in front of him, one of whom gives the impression of a respectable and successful man, and the second of whom resembles a homeless person. These two people are eating something in a wrapper. According to the knowledge of the individual, the first subject should throw the wrapper into the trash can, which is located at the same stop three steps away from him, and the second subject, in his opinion, will most likely throw the piece of paper in the same place where it is, that is, he will not bother himself with to come up and throw the trash in the trash can. Dissonance occurs when an individual sees the behavior of subjects that runs counter to his ideas. In other words, when a respectable man throws a wrapper at his feet and when a homeless person covers a distance of three steps to throw the piece of paper into the trash bin, a contradiction ensues - opposing ideas collide in the mind of the individual.

Another example. An individual wants to gain an athletic physique. After all, it is beautiful, attracts the attention of the opposite sex, makes you feel good, and helps improve your health. To achieve the goal, he needs to start exercising regularly. physical exercise, normalize nutrition, try to follow the regime and adhere to a certain daily routine, or find a bunch of justifying factors indicating that he doesn’t really need it (not enough finances or free time, supposedly poor health, body type within the normal range). Any actions of the individual, thus, will be directed towards reducing dissonance - liberation from confrontation within himself.

In this case, it is almost always possible to avoid the appearance of cognitive dissonance. Often this is facilitated by simply ignoring any information regarding problematic issue, which may differ from the existing one. In the case of an already emerging state of dissonance, its further development and strengthening should be neutralized by adding new beliefs to the system of one’s own ideas, replacing the old ones with them. An example of this is the behavior of a smoker who understands that smoking is harmful to his health and those around him. The smoker is in a state of dissonance. He can exit it:

By changing behavior - quit smoking;

By changing knowledge (convince yourself of the exaggerated danger of smoking or convince yourself that all information about the dangers of smoking is completely unreliable);

Take any messages about the dangers of smoking with caution, in other words, simply ignore them.

However, such a strategy can often lead to fear of dissonance, prejudice, the emergence of personality disorders, and sometimes to neuroses.

What does cognitive dissonance mean? In simple words, its definition is as follows. Dissonance is a certain state in which a person feels discomfort caused by the presence of two or more contradictory knowledge (beliefs, ideas) about one phenomenon. Therefore, in order not to feel painful cognitive dissonance, you should simply accept as a fact that such a phenomenon simply takes place. It is necessary to understand that contradictions between some elements of an individual’s belief system and the real state of affairs will invariably be reflected in existence. And accepting and realizing that absolutely everything can be completely different from your own thoughts, positions, ideas and beliefs allows you to avoid dissonance.

Speaker of the Medical and Psychological Center "PsychoMed"

Cognitive dissonance

Cognitive dissonance(from English words: cognitive - « cognitive" And dissonance - « lack of harmony") - a state of an individual characterized by a collision in his consciousness of contradictory knowledge, beliefs, behavioral attitudes regarding some object or phenomenon, in which the existence of one element results in the denial of another, and the feeling of psychological discomfort associated with this discrepancy.

Literally this means: “lack of harmony in cognition, or in a normal translation - discrepancy between what was received and what was expected.”

The concept of "cognitive dissonance" was first introduced by Leon Festinger in 1957.

Cognitive dissonance theory

The theory of cognitive dissonance was proposed by Leon Festinger in It explains conflict situations, which often arise “in the cognitive structure of one person.” The theory aims to explain and explore the state of cognitive dissonance that arises in a person as a reaction to a certain situation, the actions of individuals or the whole

Main hypotheses of the theory

• due to logical inconsistency;
• “due to cultural customs”;
• in the event that an individual opinion is part of a broader opinion;
• due to the discrepancy between past experience and the present situation.

Cognitive dissonance occurs due to a discrepancy between two "cognitions" (or "knowledges") of an individual. An individual, having information on any issue, is forced to neglect it when making a decision. As a consequence, a discrepancy (“dissonance”) arises between a person’s attitudes and his actual actions.

As a result of this behavior, there is a change in certain (which the situation influences in one way or another) person’s attitudes, and this change can be justified based on the fact that it is vital for a person to maintain the consistency of his knowledge.

Therefore, people are ready to justify their delusions: a person who has committed an offense or mistake is inclined to justify himself in his thoughts, gradually shifting his beliefs about what happened towards the fact that what happened was actually not so terrible. In this way, the individual “regulates” his thinking in order to reduce the conflict within himself.

Degree of dissonance

In various situations that arise in everyday life, dissonance can increase or decrease - it all depends on the problem that faces the person.

Thus, the degree of dissonance will be minimal if a person, for example, gives money to a beggar on the street, who (apparently) does not really need alms. On the contrary, the degree of dissonance will increase many times over if a person faces a serious exam and he does not try to prepare for it.

Dissonance can (and does) arise in any situation when a person has to make a choice. Moreover, the degree of dissonance will increase depending on how important this choice is for the individual...

Reducing dissonance

It is clear that the existence of dissonance, regardless of the degree of its strength, forces a person to get rid of it completely, and if for some reason this is not yet possible, then to significantly reduce it. To reduce dissonance, a person can resort to four methods:

1. change your behavior;
2. change “cognition”, that is, convince yourself of the opposite;
3. filter incoming information regarding a given issue or problem.
4. development of the first method: apply the criterion of truth to the information received, admit your mistakes and act in accordance with a new, more complete and clear understanding of the problem.

Let's explain this with a specific example. For example, a person is a heavy smoker. He receives information about the dangers of smoking - from a doctor, an acquaintance, from a newspaper or from another source. According to the information received, he will either change his behavior - that is, quit smoking, because he is convinced that it is too harmful to his health. Or he may deny that smoking is harmful to his body, try, for example, to find some information that smoking can be “beneficial” to some extent (for example, while he smokes, he does not gain excess weight, as it happens when a person quits smoking), and thereby reduce the importance of negative information. This reduces the dissonance between his knowledge and actions. In the third case, he will try to avoid any information emphasizing the dangers of smoking.

Preventing and avoiding dissonance

In some cases, an individual can prevent the emergence of dissonance and, as a result, internal discomfort by trying to avoid any negative information regarding his problem. If dissonance has already arisen, then the individual can avoid increasing it by adding one or more cognitive elements “to the cognitive scheme” instead of the existing negative element (which generates dissonance). Thus, the individual will be interested in seeking information that would support his choice (his decision) and ultimately reduce or completely eliminate dissonance, while avoiding sources of information that will increase it. However, frequent such behavior of an individual can lead to negative consequences: a person may develop a fear of dissonance or prejudice, which is a dangerous factor influencing the individual’s worldview.

A relationship of incongruity (dissonance) may exist between two (or more) cognitive elements. When dissonance occurs, the individual strives to reduce its degree, avoid it, or get rid of it completely. This desire is justified by the fact that a person sets as his goal a change in his behavior, a search for new information regarding the situation or object that “generated dissonance.”

It is quite understandable that it is much easier for a person to agree with the existing state of affairs, adjusting his internal attitudes according to the current situation, instead of continuing to be tormented by the question of whether he did the right thing. Often dissonance arises as a consequence of making important decisions. Choosing from two equally tempting alternatives is not easy for a person, however, having finally made this choice, a person often begins to feel “dissonant cognitions”, that is, positive aspects the option he refused, and the not very positive features of what he agreed with. In order to suppress (weaken) dissonance, a person tries with all his might to exaggerate the significance of the decision he has made, while simultaneously downplaying the importance of the rejected one. As a result, the other alternative loses all attractiveness in his eyes.

Literature

See also

Links

• Festinger L. Introduction to the theory of dissonance. // Festinger L. Theory of cognitive dissonance. - St. Petersburg: Yuventa, 1999. - P. 15-52.
• Deryabin A. A. Self-concept and the theory of cognitive dissonance: a review of foreign literature.

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See what “Cognitive dissonance” is in other dictionaries:

COGNITIVE DISSONANCE- (eng. cognitive dissonance) the experience of discomfort arising from actions that go against one’s own beliefs (attitudes). An internal problem, an intrapersonal conflict, can be resolved by changing beliefs or interpretation... ... Great psychological encyclopedia

- (lat. dissonans discordant sounding, cognitio knowledge, cognition) concept in social psychology, which explains the influence of a system of cognitive elements on human behavior, describing the formation of social motivations under their influence... ... The latest philosophical dictionary

- (cognitive dissonance) A condition characterized by a collision in the individual’s mind of conflicting knowledge, beliefs, and behavioral attitudes regarding some object or phenomenon. A person seeks to overcome cognitive dissonance by... ... Dictionary of business terms

Intellectual conflict that occurs when existing opinions and ideas are contradicted by new information. Discomfort or tension caused by conflict can be relieved by one of several protective actions: the individual... ... Philosophical Encyclopedia

English dissonance, cognitive; German cognitive dissonance. According to L. Festinger, a state characterized by a collision in the individual’s mind of conflicting knowledge, beliefs, and behavioral attitudes regarding k.l. object or phenomenon that causes... Encyclopedia of Sociology

Noun, number of synonyms: 1 inadequate state (1) ASIS Dictionary of Synonyms. V.N. Trishin. 2013… Dictionary of synonyms

cognitive dissonance- pažinimo disonansas statusas T sritis švietimas apibrėžtis Asmenybės būsena, atsirandanti dėl žinojimo, įsitikinimų ir veiklos bei elgesio prieštaravimų. Esant pažinimo disonanso būsenai, išgyvenamas vidinis nepatogumas (diskomfortas) arba… … Enciklopedinis edukologijos žodynas

Despite the complicated name “cognitive dissonance,” many people encounter it in everyday life. Cognitive means a thought process, and dissonance is a disagreement between something. The founder of cognitive dissonance is Festinger, who put forward his theories and concepts. Using examples, it becomes clear what cognitive dissonance is.

In every person's life, situations arise when a decision needs to be made. If a person cannot quickly make a decision, this often indicates cognitive dissonance, that is, the inability to choose between two or even large quantities options for resolving the situation. Depending on how quickly a person chooses what he will sacrifice and what he will follow, making a decision will take one or another time.

Typically, cognitive dissonance occurs in situations where a person is faced with a choice: to follow own desires and motives or pay attention to public opinion, legal norms, morality? For example, cognitive dissonance will arise in a situation when a person finds out about his significant other’s betrayal. On the one hand, you want to punch everyone in the face, on the other hand, you need to remember that such actions will lead to liability before the law.

Cognitive dissonance manifests itself in the fact that a person is forced to limit himself in some way, since what is desired does not always coincide with what is possible. For example, a girl wants to live luxuriously and carefree, which is why she begins to look for a rich man. And to society, which is indignant about her desires, she begins to tell various excuses for her behavior: “I lived poorly,” “I wish better life to your children,” etc.

Cognitive dissonance is when a person is faced with different options for solving one problem, and all of them are equivalent and equally important. And a person has to choose not between his desires, but between goals and public opinion, emotional impulses and the norms of the law, that is, between “I want” and “I must.” A striking example Such dissonance may be the child’s reluctance to learn. On the one hand, he needs to study, on the other hand, he does not want to waste time studying uninteresting topics.

And since a person does not always manage to follow the lead public opinion, he is forced to look for various excuses. People will start asking why he didn’t listen to them! And he must have good reasons for disobedience.

The same thing happens in a situation when a person follows the lead of society, which contradicts his personal desires. For example, a guy, instead of punishing his offender with his fists, simply turns around and leaves, as his parents taught him. In order to calm himself down and justify his action, which may seem like weakness to a guy, he begins to look for good reasons, like, “that’s what my parents taught me,” “I showed intelligence,” etc.

Cognitive dissonance also manifests itself when an important decision needs to be made, but the person is overcome by strong doubts. Even when he has made a decision, a person continues to doubt and go through other options for solving the situation in his head. For example, a woman decided to forgive her husband for his misconduct, but in the following days she continues to doubt whether this should have been done and how much it corresponds to her desires.

What is cognitive dissonance?

Cognitive dissonance relates to the site psychological assistance site to negative states, in which he feels discomfort due to conflicting knowledge, worldviews, teachings, ideas, values, goals, behavioral attitudes and beliefs. Experience and what a person must do, habits and what is necessary, personal and social often come into conflict.

Cognitive dissonance is a confrontation of two cognitions that are not equally significant for the person himself, but are equally possible when solving a certain issue. And a person faces a choice, for example, between satisfying physical desires or moral values.

In order to overcome cognitive dissonance, a person makes a choice between experience and actions, and then begins to find a rational grain in what he chose in order to explain to himself and the people around him his choice, which may seem wrong to someone. In this way, a person achieves internal balance and smoothness. This theory is put forward by the founder Leon Festinger, who noted that the most comfortable state for a person is cognitive coherence. And if an individual chooses one thing, then to achieve inner harmony he begins to look for excuses for his own choice.

Causes of cognitive dissonance

Cognitive dissonance occurs for the following reasons:

1. The discrepancy between personal beliefs and the attitudes of society or the group in which the person is located.
2. Inconsistency between the concepts and ideas with which a person operates.
3. Going against social norms and ethnic rules, especially if they do not conform to the law or personal desires.
4. The discrepancy between the experience that a person has and the information that he receives in new conditions. In other words, previous experience does not help in solving a new situation that is similar to the previous one.

Each person has knowledge and experience that he gains as he lives. However, new situations may indicate that his existing beliefs are not at all true or do not always work. As a person is forced to solve problems, he begins to choose the best from the worst. And in order to achieve internal balance, he finds various justifications for his choice.

Festinger tried to explain the nature of cognitive dissonance, as well as ways to eliminate it. And here motivation stands out, which dictates to a person what choice he will make. The strongest motivation tells a person which idea should be abandoned in order to implement another. And then, in order to maintain balance in a new path, a person must justify his action.

Cognitive dissonance theory

Cognitive dissonance has been known since ancient times, since a person has always been faced with the need to choose between personal desires and the norms of social life. Either a person will try to be a good citizen, or he will achieve success, which involves the presence of selfishness and stubbornness - qualities that are not acceptable in society.

Cognitive dissonance is natural for any person who cannot know everything about the world around us. The property of the brain is to remember what situations occurred and what decisions were made, actions were performed, and what was ultimately achieved. If a person has achieved failure, then he draws certain conclusions, saying, “you shouldn’t do this so as not to get into trouble again.” However, in a typical situation, a person acts differently and again faces failure, and as a result of analysis it turns out that he should have acted as he did in the previous situation.

Cognitive dissonance is the need to find a solution to one situation among the many options that a person has based on his experience, as well as those offered by society, individuals and even the law. Here a person must sometimes choose among options that do not correspond to his desires and usual actions.

Because cognitive dissonance forces a person to give up something, he makes excuses. And anything can be used here: “I did the right thing, no matter what!”, “This is my life. I live as I want!”, “In last time I did the wrong thing,” “I have the right to make a mistake,” etc. Psychologists identify the following ways to reduce dissonance:

1. Transformation of one cognition, that is, convincing oneself of the opposite.
2. Changing your own behavior.
3. Filtering the information that comes in.
4. See mistakes and change your decision, act according to it.

A way to reduce cognitive dissonance after a decision has been made may be for the person to begin to extol the significance of the decision he made and downplay all other options that were offered in eliminating the problem.

Festinger's theory of cognitive dissonance

Leon Festinger put forward the following theories of cognitive dissonance:

• The individual will try to get rid of cognitive dissonance when it arises.
• A person will avoid all situations that will introduce him to cognitive dissonance.

In the process of cognitive dissonance, when the connection between ideas is lost or there is no consistency between actions and thoughts, the intellect and the person’s reaction to those stimuli that are present in the situation are involved.

Cognitive dissonance can manifest itself in the fact that a person begins to repent or doubt the decision taken. This may happen over time. The action has already been completed. The result has been achieved, but it does not satisfy the desires of the person himself. And over time, he begins to repent, experience remorse, and subsequently make different decisions in similar situations.

Examples of cognitive dissonance

Cognitive dissonance happens to many people, and there are many situations that arise. Examples could be:

1. Admission of excellent and poor students. Since each student is required to behave in a certain way (an excellent student must study well, and a poor student must study poorly), cognitive dissonance occurs when an excellent student begins to study with bad marks, and a poor student with fives.
2. Bad habits. Sooner or later, everyone begins to understand that habits are harmful to health. And here a person faces a choice: continue to harm himself or get rid of the habit.
3. Should I give alms? If you see a homeless person on the street, you are faced with a choice: to give or not to give? It all depends on your inner beliefs and social principles.
4. The desire to lose weight. On the one hand, the girl wants to lose weight. However, on the other hand, she may experience a strong desire to eat something tasty.

Since cognitive dissonance has arisen and will arise in the life of any person, it is proposed various ways avoiding it:

• Acceptance of the situation, that is, begin to treat it as acceptable.
• A positive attitude, that is, seeing the positive aspects in a situation.
• Avoiding information that contradicts your views and experiences.

Bottom line

Man lives in a diverse world that cannot be explained from only one side. To avoid cognitive dissonance, you need to learn to see all the diversity and understand that in situations you can act badly, selfishly, and incorrectly, which is also normal if it gives positive results.