Okuzeka
Psychology vocabulary · Social Psychology

Cognitive dissonance

Meaning in psychology, with examples

nounCommon term

In psychology, cognitive dissonance means: The uncomfortable tension people feel when they hold two conflicting beliefs, or when their actions go against their beliefs, which often leads them to change one of them.

In Turkish: bilişsel çelişki, bilişsel uyumsuzluk

How it is used

Comes from Leon Festinger's theory (1957). Social psychologists use it to explain attitude change and how people justify their choices; it is now also used loosely in journalism and everyday speech.

Example sentences

  1. Smokers who know the health risks often reduce cognitive dissonance by playing them down.

  2. Participants paid only one dollar experienced more cognitive dissonance than those paid twenty.

Common collocations

  • reduce cognitive dissonance
  • experience cognitive dissonance
  • dissonance theory
  • attitudeA fairly lasting evaluation of a person, group, object or idea that combines beliefs, feelings and a tendency to act in a positive or negative way.
  • cognitive biasA systematic error in thinking or judgement that makes people depart from logic or evidence in predictable ways, such as confirmation bias.
  • conformityChanging one's behaviour or beliefs to match those of a group because of real or imagined pressure from others.
  • cognitionThe mental processes we use to gain and use knowledge, such as thinking, remembering, paying attention, understanding language and solving problems.

More terms: Social Psychology

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