convective dissonance. Cognitive dissonance - what is it in simple words, examples
THE COGNITIVE DISSONANCE
(English) 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 if one changes one's beliefs or interpretation of the situation. Cm. , .
Big psychological dictionary. - M.: Prime-EVROZNAK. Ed. B.G. Meshcheryakova, acad. V.P. Zinchenko. 2003 .
The cognitive dissonance
THE COGNITIVE DISSONANCE (With. 303) - a negative motivating state that occurs in a situation where a person has two opposite ideas, judgments, intentions, etc., related to one object; the central concept of socio-psychological theory developed by the American psychologist Leon Festinger.
Festinger, in his research, relied on the principle of balance, using it in the analysis of a person's attitude to the world. He himself begins the presentation of his theory with the following reasoning: it is noticed that people strive for some consistency as a desired internal state. If there is a conflict between what a person knows, and the fact that he does, then they try to somehow explain this contradiction and, most likely, present it as non-contradiction in order to regain a state of internal cognitive coherence. Further, Festinger proposes to replace the term "contradiction" with "dissonance", and "consistency" with "consonance", since this last pair of terms seems to him more neutral, and now formulate the main provisions of the theory. It can be summarized in three main points: a) Dissonance can arise between cognitive elements; b) the existence of dissonance causes a desire to reduce it or prevent its growth; c) the manifestation of this desire includes: or, or a change in knowledge, or a cautious, selective attitude to new information. An example of a smoker, which has already become a household name, is given as an illustration: a person smokes, but at the same time he knows that smoking is harmful; he has a dissonance, out of which there are three ways: a) change behavior, that is, stop smoking; b) to change knowledge, in this case - to convince yourself that all the arguments about the dangers of smoking at least exaggerate the danger, if not completely unreliable; c) carefully perceive new information about the dangers of smoking, that is, simply ignore it.
The main practical conclusion that follows from Festinger's theory is that any psychological element of the subject can be changed: by questioning what a person thinks about himself, you can cause changes in his behavior, and by changing behavior, a person changes his opinion about himself. . Subjecting oneself to self-control and introspection, working on self-esteem, a person develops, grows personally. Otherwise, he gives his mental work to others, becoming a victim (or instrument) of someone else's influence. This is what the results of superbly designed experiments and his colleagues say.
One of the first experiments to test the theory of cognitive dissonance was carried out by J. Brem. He suggested that the subjects first evaluate several household electrical appliances - a toaster, a hair dryer, etc. Then Brehm showed the subjects two items from those that they carefully examined, and said that they were allowed to take any of them to choose from. Later, when subjects were asked to re-evaluate the same items, they were more positive about the product they chose and less about the rejected product. In light of Festinger's theory, the reason for this behavior is clear. Having made a difficult choice, people experience dissonance: knowledge of the negative characteristics of the chosen subject is dissonant with the fact of its choice; knowledge of the positive characteristics of the rejected subject is discordant with the fact that the subject was not chosen. To reduce dissonance, people emphasize the positive aspects and downplay the negative aspects of the selected items, and, conversely, emphasize the negative sides and downplay the positive aspects of the unselected item.
E. Aronson and J. Mills suggested that if people spend a lot of effort, and even more so make some sacrifices in order to gain access to a group that later turns out to be boring and uninteresting, then they will experience dissonance. Knowing what they have endured will be dissonant with knowing the negative aspects of the group. It is unpleasant for people to waste efforts in vain and make unpaid sacrifices. To remove dissonance, they try to change the perception of the group in a positive way. In Aronson and Mills' experiment, college girls had to pass an entrance test in order to become members of a debating club to discuss the psychology of sex. For some of the girls, these tests were very unpleasant - they were required to frankly demonstrate their sexual emancipation in the presence of a male experimenter. Even those who agreed to this (and not all agreed) were embarrassed and, that is, were forced to overpower themselves. For others, the test was easier - they were allowed, at their discretion, to perform the procedure incompletely and remain within the bounds of traditional propriety. Still others were completely spared from the entrance test. Then all the subjects listened to a tape recording of one of the discussions held in the club to which they were accepted. As expected, the girls who went through the most difficult and humiliating test rated the material they listened to as very interesting and informative, and this rating was much higher than that given by the other two groups of subjects.
Another experiment that Aronson did with employees a few years later was based on the assumption that if a threat is used to stop people from doing what they love, then the less the threat, the more those people will tend to belittle it in their eyes. case. If a person abstains from a favorite activity, he experiences dissonance. The knowledge that he loves this activity is dissonant with the knowledge that he is forced not to do it. One way to reduce dissonance is to diminish the value of the activity in your eyes. Thus, there is an excuse why a person does not do what he loves. Moreover, a weak threat causes less self-justification. This leads to adding your own arguments to convince yourself that a person does not like doing what he loves at all. In Aronson's experiment, it was found that children who were subjected to symbolic punishment for using their favorite toy decreased their love for that toy to a much greater extent than those who were subjected to serious punishment.
Popular psychological encyclopedia. - M.: Eksmo. S.S. Stepanov. 2005 .
The cognitive dissonance
An unpleasant feeling arising from the inconsistency of a set of attitudes or beliefs about one object. There are the following causes of cognitive dissonance:
When two attitudes somehow disagree with each other, such as "I like this person" and "I don't like this person's political views."
When people do things that they did not intend to do, or behave in opposition to the stated attitudes. For example, a person promotes the benefits of
The less reason a person has for such behavior, the stronger will be the feeling of dissonance and motivation to change the basic attitude in order to restore the correspondence between attitude and behavior. For example. our vegetarian could have had a wide choice of food, but chose a steak (weak argument). or was forced to eat a steak at gunpoint (strong argument). In the first case, the occurrence of cognitive dissonance is much more likely than in the second. The theory of cognitive dissonance implies that behavior that does not correspond to our installations forces us to change them in order to get rid of negative feelings.
Psychology. AND I. Dictionary-reference book / Per. from English. K. S. Tkachenko. - M.: FAIR-PRESS. Mike Cordwell. 2000 .
See what "COGNITIVE DISSONANCE" is in other dictionaries:
THE COGNITIVE DISSONANCE- (lat. dissonans discordantly sounding, cognitio knowledge, cognition) a concept in social psychology that 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
THE COGNITIVE DISSONANCE- (cognitive dissonance) A state characterized by a clash in the mind of an individual of conflicting knowledge, beliefs, behavioral attitudes regarding some object or phenomenon. A person seeks to overcome cognitive dissonance by ... ... Glossary of business terms
THE COGNITIVE DISSONANCE- intellectual conflict that occurs when existing opinions and ideas are contradicted by new information. The discomfort or tension caused by the conflict can be relieved by one of several defensive actions: the individual ... ... Philosophical Encyclopedia
THE COGNITIVE DISSONANCE- English. dissonance, cognitive; German cognitive dissonance. According to L. Festinger, a state characterized by a clash in the mind of an individual of conflicting knowledge, beliefs, behavioral attitudes regarding c.l. object or phenomenon that causes ... ... Encyclopedia of Sociology
the cognitive dissonance- noun, number of synonyms: 1 inadequate condition (1) ASIS synonym dictionary. V.N. Trishin. 2013 ... Synonym dictionary
The cognitive dissonance- (from the English words: cognitive "cognitive" and dissonance "lack of harmony") the state of the individual, characterized by a collision in his mind of conflicting knowledge, beliefs, behavioral attitudes regarding some ... ... Wikipedia
the 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
THE COGNITIVE DISSONANCE- (cognitive dissonance) a case of discrepancy, opposition or contradiction of thoughts, attitudes or actions, leading to a feeling of tension and the need to reach agreement. The term was coined by Festinger (1957). According to his definition... Big explanatory sociological dictionary
28.10.2017
Snezhana Ivanova
What does cognitive dissonance mean? Having met with this concept, most people are lost, because they do not understand its meaning.
What does cognitive dissonance mean? Having met with this concept, most people are lost, because they do not understand its meaning. However, it is quite common in our daily life. In most cases, so often that we do not notice it. Let's consider this question in more detail.
Theory of cognitive dissonance
The theory of cognitive dissonance is called the Festinger theory. This scientist was the first to describe the psychological state of an individual who is faced with a certain inconsistency in his idea of an object or phenomenon. Festinger called the theory of cognitive dissonance a state in which the usual idea of \u200b\u200bthe subject collapses. The person remains at a loss because he does not know what to do with new information, how to apply it and what should be done.
Cognitive dissonance as a phenomenon develops for several reasons. These reasons are simple and understandable for someone who thinks about the origin of certain concepts. The theory of cognitive dissonance is a topic that deserves detailed consideration and comprehensive study. As a rule, it is of interest to people close to psychology, engaged in personal development and self-improvement. There are plenty of real life examples.
Expectations Mismatch
This is the first and most important cause of cognitive dissonance. A mismatch of expectations leads to the fact that a person begins to build in his head a search for understanding of some issue, to look for an appropriate explanation. And this is not always possible to do rationally. If the phenomenon or event that has occurred does not correspond to the expectations that the participants in the action or just observers have, then cognitive dissonance occurs. This phenomenon is otherwise called mental shock. An example is this: in an exam, teachers always expect a better answer from a stronger student. If a mediocre student suddenly begins to show bright outstanding abilities, and an excellent student at the same time, for some unknown reason, cannot connect two words, then the attestation commission is, to put it mildly, in great surprise. This is how cognitive dissonance develops. His theory implies the presence of some kind of mental inconsistency, disagreement in understanding the essence of things.
Difference of opinion
Such a phenomenon as a difference of opinion can also cause the formation of cognitive dissonance. The fact is that in a situation of dispute, each person tends to consider himself right. This is why the opponent's theories are often perceived as incorrect and in some cases even as unworthy of attention. Thus, people protect their personal space, preserve their individuality. Loyalty to one's own opinion allows you to remain yourself, not to adapt to your partner. The theory of cognitive dissonance includes many examples that show how difficult it is sometimes for people to come to terms with the presence of an opposing judgment.
The very theory of cognitive dissonance implies some disagreement with the views and judgments of the opponent. That is, a person intentionally or unwittingly begins to speak out against his interlocutor. Even if there is no open conflict between them, the tension in the interaction will still be felt. Some people do not express to each other for years the claims that they carry in their hearts. Such a position allows them not to openly conflict and not to express the accumulated discontent until the last moment. Of course, this approach cannot be called correct. Rather, it helps to lose trust, relationships become dry and formal. An example is a situation where partners protect their personal space and at the same time learn something completely unexpected about each other. The cognitive dissonance is very clear here.
Departure from generally accepted norms
Moral norms are of great importance in the public consciousness. When someone tries to speak out against social conventions, those around him usually go into shock. It's just that the consciousness of people is so arranged that it perceives only the information that it is able to comprehend, understand and accept. Any deviation from generally accepted norms is often perceived not just with hostility, but as something dangerous. People in most cases try to avoid unknown concepts. Subconsciously, they have an internal psychological defense mechanism. An example of cognitive dissonance in this case is the perception of homosexual behavior by others. Most people simply cannot perceive such a phenomenon adequately. If this concerns their relatives, for many, this circumstance is a cause for shame. People do not dare to tell such details about their relatives in a circle of colleagues, fearing a pronounced misunderstanding and condemnation.
Social conflict
The theory of cognitive dissonance is extremely interesting to researchers in the field of self-improvement and personal growth. Modern psychological science considers this phenomenon from different angles, trying to understand its nature. Cognitive dissonance arises from social divisions. Social inequality gives rise to many misunderstandings and the appearance of open discontent. In an effort to take care of their own well-being, people sometimes easily forget about those who are nearby.
Cognitive dissonance in everyday reality manifests itself in a certain way. This phenomenon is quite common in our life. If people were more attentive even to their own feelings, they would be able to detect manifestations of a certain discrepancy between their own and other people's expectations. What are the ways of expressing the theory of cognitive dissonance?
Psychological discomfort
This phenomenon is a prerequisite for the appearance of cognitive dissonance. Psychological discomfort appears when a person is unable to satisfy his significant needs. The fact is that a person simply does not know how to cope with growing anxiety and despair. He makes some attempts to feel better, but this is not always possible. Psychological discomfort becomes a vivid manifestation of the discrepancy between internal expectations and the efforts made. People most often do not even try to analyze what is really happening to them, and do not understand their own feelings. Psychological discomfort often makes a person look for some justification for his actions, rely on strangers. In difficult situations, almost everyone feels extremely insecure.
Feeling confused
Cognitive dissonance is one of those phenomena that often begin to rule a person's life. A feeling of confusion visits a person when he is faced with a situation that is incomprehensible to himself. Trying to solve it in his usual way, he often fails. Therefore, in a state of confusion, it is so difficult to find the right solution. The exit for each may be in his own side. But when expectations do not match, a person tends to get lost. In some cases, faith in one's own prospects and possibilities is lost. The feeling of confusion in many cases does not allow to achieve meaningful results. A person begins to experience a feeling of self-doubt. Prospects and opportunities seem very vague, uncertain and even unrealistic. If every person learned to maintain a sense of inner balance, he would be able to feel better under any circumstances. The feeling of confusion often prevents us from experiencing the wonderful moments of life, getting closer to understanding the essence of our being.
negative feelings
Not all feelings bring joy and happiness to a person. The emotional sphere is a system that has not yet been fully studied by leading experts in the field of psychology. It is known that positive emotions help to prolong life, and negative feelings contribute to the deterioration of the quality of life. The state of a person changes depending on the emotions he experiences. Negative feelings often create cognitive dissonance. This is because emotions greatly affect the ability of people to hear and understand each other. In life there are enough examples of what a great influence feelings have on the state of mind. A personality can fully develop only when it is not limited in its own emotions. Rejection and rejection of something does not make it possible to get closer to the desired result. The discrepancy between one's own expectations leads to an internal conflict, does not allow the person to feel happy and self-sufficient. The more a person tends to dwell on his own shortcomings, the more he is susceptible to the negative effects of stress.
Thus, cognitive dissonance is a phenomenon in which a person cannot feel whole and self-sufficient in any way. The more surprise, negative impressions we experience at the moment of emotional shock, the more difficult it becomes to believe in what is happening, to try to find the right solution.
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People by nature tend to live in harmony with themselves, their worldview, beliefs, principles, philosophy. This is what makes us feel whole and fulfilled. But often in our everyday life we can encounter such a phenomenon when some conflicting ideas, reactions, ideas collide with each other in our minds. This is where the cognitive dissonance comes into play. And, despite the periodic appearance of this phenomenon in the life of each of us, few people wonder what it really is. Nevertheless, every person needs to have elementary things, because this will help him to know better, first of all, himself.
So what is cognitive dissonance and how does it manifest itself in our lives?
concept "the cognitive dissonance" comes from two Latin words - “cognitio”, meaning “knowledge” and “dissonanita”, meaning “lack of harmony”, and is a special state during which a person feels mental discomfort caused by a collision in his mind of conflicting beliefs, ideas , reactions in relation to some phenomenon or object.
An example is the following situation: you are standing on the street and you see two people - a respectable man and a tramp. You have your own idea of each of them: a respectable man seems to be an intelligent, educated, gentleman, and a tramp is rather his complete opposite. But now a pleasant man's phone rings, he answers the call and starts talking loudly, using a lot of obscene expressions, spitting on the sidewalk and completely ignoring those around him. At the same time, a tramp approaches you, and in a tone worthy of a real intelligent person, he asks you about what time it is and how to get to such and such an address. At a minimum, you will be surprised and discouraged by this state of affairs - opposite ideas and beliefs have just collided in your mind. This is cognitive dissonance.
For the first time the theory of cognitive dissonance was proposed by an American psychologist Leon Festinger in 1957. With the help of it, he tried to explain conflict situations in the cognitive sphere of the individual, caused by events, phenomena or actions of other people. This theory is due two hypotheses:
- In a state of cognitive dissonance, a person will invariably strive to eliminate the inconsistencies that caused it. This is influenced mainly by the state of psychological discomfort that accompanies the dissonance.
- To neutralize this discomfort, a person will seek to avoid situations that can aggravate it.
Causes for the emergence of cognitive dissonance can be different:
- Any situation from the present does not correspond to the experience from the past
- The opinion of one person is contrary to the opinion of others
- Traditions and customs of other peoples unfamiliar to a person
- Logical inconsistency of any facts
The impact of cognitive dissonance is often underestimated when in fact it is very serious. As already mentioned, this state itself occurs when a person’s knowledge does not match. Therefore, for example, in order to make a decision, a person sometimes has to put aside his knowledge and do something differently, which, in turn, creates a discrepancy between what he thinks and what he does. The result of this is a change in attitudes, which is simply necessary and inevitable in order for human knowledge to be consistent. This is what serves as a catalyst for the fact that many people often justify some of their actions, thoughts, mistakes and actions, changing their beliefs to please them, because this neutralizes intrapersonal conflict.
Cognitive dissonance, depending on the situation, tends to become stronger or weaker. For example, in a situation where a person helps a person who does not particularly need it, the degree of dissonance is minimal, but if a person understands that he must urgently start important work, but is doing something extraneous, the degree will be higher. The intensity of the state of dissonance directly depends on the importance of the choice facing the person. However, any fact of dissonance motivates a person to his elimination. There are several ways to do this:
- Change your tactics
- Change your beliefs
- Critically evaluate new information
An example situation: a person strives to gain an athletic physique. It is beautiful, pleasant, allows you to feel good, and health will become stronger. In order for him to start exercising, go to the gym, go to training regularly, eat right, follow the regime, etc. If a person has not done this before, he must, by all means, start, or find many reasons why he does not need it, and he will not do it: no time or money, poor (allegedly) well-being, and so the physique, in principle, is normal. Thus, any actions of a person will be aimed at reducing dissonance - getting rid of contradictions within himself.
But the appearance of cognitive dissonance can be avoided. Most often, this is helped by simply ignoring any information regarding the problem, which may differ from what is already available. And in the case of a state of dissonance that has already arisen, you can neutralize the further development of this process by adding new ones to your system of beliefs, replacing the old ones with them. It turns out that you need to find such information that "justifies" the existing thoughts or behavior, and try to avoid the opposite information. But often such a strategy leads to fear of dissonance, prejudice, the emergence of personality disorders and even neuroses.
In order not to perceive cognitive dissonance painfully, you just need to accept the fact that this phenomenon does exist at all. It is important to understand that the discrepancy between some elements of a person's belief system and the actual state of things will always be reflected in life. In fact, it is much easier to accept the facts as they are and try to adapt to the circumstances without wasting your energy on thinking that perhaps something was done wrong, some decision was made incorrectly, some The choice was made incorrectly. If something has already happened, then so be it. In one of the books of the famous writer Carlos Castaneda, in which he describes the process of his training with an Indian shaman, his teacher tells him about one very effective way to live - to be a Warrior. Here it is not necessary to go into the details of the philosophy of this path, but it is only necessary to say that one of its main features is that a person can doubt and think until he has made a decision. But having made his choice, he must throw away all his doubts and thoughts, do what is necessary, and calmly accept the result, whatever it may be.
As for the worldview as a whole, the state of cognitive dissonance occurs most often only because we are firmly convinced that something should be exactly this way and nothing else. Many people believe that their opinion is the only correct one, that it is only correct the way they think, everything should be the way they want. This position is the least effective for a harmonious and happy life. The best option is to accept that everything can be completely different from our thoughts, views and beliefs. The world is full of not just different people and facts, but also all sorts of mysteries and unusual phenomena. And our task is to learn to look at it from different angles, taking into account any possibilities, and not to be "narrow-minded", stubborn and obsessed with ourselves and our knowledge people. Cognitive dissonance is a condition inherent, to varying degrees, in every person. It is important to know about it and be able to identify and neutralize it. But it is equally important to take it for granted.
What is your opinion on this issue? Surely, while reading the article, you remembered some interesting examples of cognitive dissonance from your personal life. Tell us about your experience, because nothing is as interesting as real stories. In addition, many will be interested in reading about how someone else gets out of this state. So we are waiting for your stories and comments.
These two words are quite common, they are used on television, in the press, on the Internet, but still not everyone knows what they mean. The cognitive dissonance.
Let's try to understand everything connected with this expression. It came from the Latin analogues, meaning inconsonance.
Internal inconsistency, contradiction cause an uncomfortable mental state. It arises in a collision with any ideas, memories, beliefs that contradict in the mind of a person.
Not just a state, but a reaction in response to a contradiction that has arisen. To make it clearer, consider a situation that can cause cognitive dissonance.
You have known a person for quite some time, but you are not aware that he has a twin sister. And here he is before you with her. From the unexpectedness of such a scenario, you have a state described as cognitive dissonance, which is a vivid impression, accompanied by a significant contradiction.
At such a moment, a sharp conflict of established ideas arises in the mind.
Origin of the concept
When did this expression originate? Who brought it into use? It happened not so long ago. In the fifties, psychologist Leon Festinger put forward a theory that explains the various internal contradictions in the human mind that provoke the emergence of such a state.
Anything can cause such a sharp reaction, the situation, the actions of one person, society. The theory gives an explanation of the phenomenon itself, the impact on a person, the consequences, varieties, methods of confrontation.
The author of the theory formulated two main postulates. The first is that when cognitive dissonance occurs, the body attempts to resolve the contradiction in order to eliminate the state of discomfort, to achieve consonance (consistency).
Another feature is that a person tries to avoid such situations. Several reasons have been cited:
- logical inconsistency; "cultural features";
- personal opinion does not correspond to the widespread;
- inconsistencies between existing ideas and the situation that has arisen.
As a result, some beliefs are corrected (due to the “programming” of a person to maintain consistency). That is why people try in every possible way to justify their actions, opinions (there is a calibration of opinions, beliefs, impressions, so that the discrepancy is eliminated).
A person who has acted badly tries to justify himself, console him: “it should have happened”, “circumstances are to blame”.
Cognitive dissonance has a degree (it can be measured using a Fourier hologram), it can also appear when a person faces a choice, while its degree will depend on significance. The appearance of dissonance (regardless of degree) induces the organism in all possible ways to resolve the contradiction, or at least to achieve a lesser degree.
There are four unconscious four strategies for this. The first is to change behavior, the second is to correct one or more cognitions (to convince oneself of the opposite), the third involves filtering incoming information related to this issue. The fourth method is an improved one: to take as true not your previous beliefs on this matter, but new ones, and draw conclusions based on them.
For example, a person has a bad habit, and one day he learns from an authoritative source about its extreme harm to health. There are several options for the development of further events:
- change their behavior based on what they hear;
- will deny the obvious, all the while trying to prove the opposite;
- will try to find independent evidence of his innocence;
- will avoid any information concerning the unpleasant consequences of this bad habit. This minimizes the conflict between knowledge and behavior.
Examples of dissonance
To remember the expression, here are some examples. You know a person as kind, quiet, calm and accidentally become a witness of how he, being in a rage, shouts at his wife, calls her names. Knowing him for many years, you cannot believe that this is the same person. His current behavior radically does not coincide with the prevailing characteristics, so much so that it introduces him into that very state of cognitive dissonance.
Another example. You work for a company with more than 1,000 employees. And suddenly you see how its owner, dealing with huge money, sweeps the floor in the office.
One more example. Walking down the street, you notice a beggar "at work" and involuntarily become a witness of how he gets into an expensive car parked nearby. An unexpected inconsistency will cause cognitive dissonance.
Two mysterious and complex words often plunged into a stupor those who heard them at an unexpected moment.
I have cognitive dissonance!
But what does that mean? We analyze and explain them in simple language. Now let's find out what it all means, how to remember it and use it correctly.
So, the cognitive dissonance comes from two Latin words: cognitio - "knowledge" and dissonantia - "dissonance". In other words, it is some kind of internal disharmony or lack of comfort.
Cognitive dissonance in simple words
Now let's explain cognitive dissonance in simple terms. What it is?
First, it is a mental state. Secondly, it is accompanied by a person's internal discomfort when he encounters some ideas that conflict in his understanding.
For example, you are well acquainted with one person and do not even suspect that he has a twin brother. But then one fine day you meet him, shake hands and suddenly find another, exactly the same person nearby.
From surprise (after all, you did not know about the twin), you have a sharp contradiction inside. This mental state is called cognitive dissonance.
That is, in simple terms, cognitive dissonance is characterized by a conflict of previously formed ideas about anything.
Theory of cognitive dissonance
If you want to really be smart, and not just trump with smart words, then you need to know both the etymology and the history of the origin of complex concepts.
So, in 1957, the American psychologist Leon Festinger proposed the theory of cognitive dissonance. This was very useful, because it can be used to explain various conflict situations in science. And this is very important for working with a person as a person.
This theory studies the impact of cognitive dissonance on a person, its types and ways to overcome psychological discomfort.
Leon Festinger even managed to formulate two hypotheses of this remarkable theory:
- As soon as a person feels the emergence of dissonance, he will make every effort to overcome it, since it is the cause of great internal discomfort.
- The second assertion follows from the first. A person strives by all means to avoid such situations in which cognitive dissonance can increase.
That's probably the whole theory.
Examples of cognitive dissonance
In the end, in order to get a good grasp of the new buzzword, let's give some examples of dissonance.
For example, you met a person who seemed to you extremely kind, quiet and calm. He never raises his voice to those around him and behaves meekly like a lamb with everyone. We are disposed to him precisely because we perceive him as kind and good.
But then you accidentally meet him in the park, walking with his wife. He hasn't seen us yet, so he's behaving very naturally. And then you notice with horror that he is screaming at his wife, while calling her extremely bad words and doing it very aggressively, waving his arms and distorting his face with genuine anger.
You, knowing him as a meek quiet person, experience a real cognitive dissonance, since his current behavior is completely contrary to the idea that was formed about him earlier.
Or here's another example.
You got a job in a very large company. It has about 1,000 employees, and all have a high salary. That is, the CEO is, in fact, a millionaire.
One fine day you go into the kitchen, which is attached to the office, and notice how this very director, who manages colossal money, is sweeping the floor. He just decided to clean up after his workers, who had messed up a bit during lunch and forgot to sweep.
That internal conflict, contradiction or inconsistency in your representation of the position of a person in a company and a broom for cleaning will be called cognitive dissonance.
Well, the last example.
You are walking down the street and you see a beggar sitting near an underpass begging for alms. You have to wait for your friend, and you take the opportunity to watch the beggar. Five minutes pass, he suddenly gets up, collects all his bags and alms, and heads to his own car.
The complete inconsistency of the idea of homeless people owning cars will provoke a real cognitive dissonance inside.
How to remember?
To remember any complex term, you need to use it a couple of times in everyday life. When you meet with your friend, and he suggests that you go to the nearest restaurant for a good meal, tell him that you have decided not to eat in city eateries due to your new beliefs.
After he emotionally demonstrates his surprise to you, with a sly smile, say:
“What, cognitive dissonance, sir?” I joked, let's go eat!
Together with the term described in the article, another word is often used, which we recommend to get acquainted with. This .
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