Synonyms
Contradictory beliefs; Misperception
Definition
Cognitive dissonance is an unpleasant sensation that appears when someone is confronted with two contradictory facts or ideas at the same time. People usually tend to keep consistency internalized and thus reduce the dissonance.
Overview
The cognitive dissonance theory is one of the most influential theories in social psychology. It was proposed and developed by Leon Festinger (1957). It states that people have some persistent beliefs about their physical and social environment, and try to behave in a self-consistent manner. When they encounter two cognitions (attitudes, beliefs, behaviors), which are relevant to each other, but dissonant at the same time, it generates an uncomfortable psychological tension. People are then motivated to reduce the dissonance by altering one of the causative cognitive elements. Consequently, it results in changing their attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors, or in attempts to justify or rationalize...
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Dzialek, J. (2013). Cognitive Dissonance. In: Bobrowsky, P.T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Natural Hazards. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-4399-4_67
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-4399-4_67
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