Cognitive dissonance

In psychology, cognitive dissonance is the mental stress The pressure to reduce cognitive dissonance is a function
or discomfort experienced by an individual who holds two of the magnitude of this dissonance.[1]
or more contradictory beliefs, ideas, or values at the same
time; performs an action that is contradictory to one or
more beliefs, ideas, or values; or is confronted by new
information that conflicts with existing beliefs, ideas, or 2 Reducing
values.[1][2]
Leon Festinger's theory of cognitive dissonance focuses Cognitive dissonance theory is founded on the assump-
on how humans strive for internal consistency. An indi- tion that individuals seek consistency between their ex-
vidual who experiences inconsistency (dissonance) tends pectations and their reality. Because of this, people en-
to become psychologically uncomfortable, and is moti- gage in a process called “dissonance reduction” to bring
vated to try to reduce this dissonance—as well as actively their cognitions and actions in line with one another. This
avoid situations and information likely to increase it.[1] creation of uniformity allows for a lessening of psycho-
logical tension and distress. According to Festinger, dis-
sonance reduction can be achieved in four ways.[1] In an
example case where a person has adopted the attitude that
1 Relationship between cognitions they will no longer eat high fat food, but eats a high-fat
doughnut, the four methods of reduction are:
Individuals can adjust their attitudes or actions in vari-
ous ways. Adjustments result in one of three relation-
ships between two cognitions or between a cognition and 1. Change behavior or cognition (“I will not eat any
a behavior.[1] more of this doughnut”)

Consonant relationship Two cognitions/actions that 2. Justify behavior or cognition by changing the con-
are consistent with one another (e.g., not wanting flicting cognition (“I'm allowed to cheat every once
to get intoxicated while out, then ordering water in- in a while”)
stead of alcohol)
3. Justify behavior or cognition by adding new cogni-
Irrelevant relationship Two cognitions/actions that are tions (“I'll spend 30 extra minutes at the gym to work
unrelated to one another (e.g., not wanting to get in- this off”)
toxicated while out, then tying your shoes)

Dissonant relationship Two cognitions/actions that are 4. Ignore or deny any information that conflicts with
inconsistent with one another (e.g., not wanting to existing beliefs (“This doughnut is not high in fat”)
get intoxicated while out, then consuming a large
quantity of alcohol)

3 Theory and research

1.1 Magnitude of dissonance
Most of the research on cognitive dissonance takes the
The amount of dissonance produced by two conflicting form of one of four major paradigms. Important research
cognitions or actions (as well as the subsequent psycho- generated by the theory has been concerned with the con-
logical distress) depends on two factors: sequences of exposure to information inconsistent with a
prior belief, what happens after individuals act in ways
1. The importance of cognitions: The more that the el- that are inconsistent with their prior attitudes, what hap-
ements are personally valued, the greater the mag- pens after individuals make decisions, and the effects of
nitude of the dissonant relationship. effort expenditure. A key tenet of cognitive dissonance
theory is that those who have heavily invested in a posi-
2. Ratio of cognitions: The proportion of dissonant to tion may, when confronted with disconfirming evidence,
consonant elements go to greater lengths to justify their position.

1
2 3 THEORY AND RESEARCH

3.1 Belief disconfirmation paradigm

Dissonance is felt when people are confronted with infor-
mation that is inconsistent with their beliefs. If the disso-
nance is not reduced by changing one’s belief, the disso-
nance can result in restoring consonance through misper-
ception, rejection or refutation of the information, seek-
ing support from others who share the beliefs, and at-
tempting to persuade others.[3][4]
An early version of cognitive dissonance theory appeared
in Leon Festinger's 1956 book When Prophecy Fails.
This book gives an account of the deepening of cult mem-
bers’ faith following the failure of a cult’s prophecy that a
UFO landing was imminent. The believers met at a pre-
determined place and time, believing they alone would
survive the Earth’s destruction. The appointed time came
and passed without incident. They faced acute cognitive
dissonance: had they been the victim of a hoax? Had
they donated their worldly possessions in vain? Most
members chose to believe something less dissonant to
resolve reality not meeting their expectations: they be-
lieved that the aliens had given Earth a second chance,
and the group was now empowered to spread the word
that Earth-spoiling must stop. The group dramatically in-
creased their proselytism despite (because of) the failed
prophecy.[5]
Another example of the belief disconfirmation paradigm
is an orthodox Jewish group which believed their Rebbe After someone has performed dissonant behavior, they may find
might be the Messiah. When the Rebbe died of a stroke external consonant elements. A snake oil salesman may find a
in 1994, instead of accepting that he was not the Messiah, justification for promoting falsehoods (e.g., large personal gain),
but may otherwise need to change his views about the falsehoods
some of them concluded that he was still the Messiah but
themselves.
would soon be resurrected from the dead.[6] Some have
suggested the same process might explain the belief two
thousand years ago that Jesus was resurrected from the
dead.[7] those in the $20 and control groups. This was explained
by Festinger and Carlsmith as evidence for cognitive dis-
sonance. The researchers theorized that people experi-
3.2 Induced-compliance paradigm enced dissonance between the conflicting cognitions, “I
told someone that the task was interesting”, and “I actu-
See also: Forced compliance theory ally found it boring.” When paid only $1, students were
forced to internalize the attitude they were induced to ex-
In Festinger and Carlsmith's classic 1959 experiment, stu- press, because they had no other justification. Those in
the $20 condition, however, had an obvious external jus-
dents were asked to spend an hour on boring and tedious
tasks (e.g., turning pegs a quarter turn, over and over tification for their behaviour, and thus experienced less
again). The tasks were designed to generate a strong, neg- dissonance.[9]
ative attitude. Once the subjects had done this, the exper- In subsequent experiments, an alternative method of in-
imenters asked some of them to do a simple favour. They ducing dissonance has become common. In this research,
were asked to talk to another subject (actually an actor) experimenters use counter-attitudinal essay-writing, in
and persuade the impostor that the tasks were interesting which people are paid varying amounts of money (e.g.,
and engaging. Some participants were paid $20 (equiva- $1 or $10) for writing essays expressing opinions con-
lent to $162 in present-day terms[8] ) for this favour, an- trary to their own. People paid only a small amount of
other group was paid $1 (equivalent to $8 in present-day money have less external justification for their inconsis-
terms[8] ), and a control group was not asked to perform tency, and must produce internal justification to reduce
the favour. the high degree of dissonance they experience.
When asked to rate the boring tasks at the conclusion of A variant of the induced-compliance paradigm is the
the study (not in the presence of the other “subject”), forbidden toy paradigm. An experiment by Aronson
those in the $1 group rated them more positively than and Carlsmith in 1963 examined self-justification in
3.4 Effort justification paradigm 3

children.[10] In this experiment, children were left in a giving. The researchers argue that inequity aversion is
room with a variety of toys, including a highly desirable the paramount concern of the participants.[15]
toy steam-shovel (or other toy). Upon leaving the room,
the experimenter told half the children that there would
be a severe punishment if they played with that particu- 3.4 Effort justification paradigm
lar toy and told the other half that there would be a mild
punishment. All of the children in the study refrained Further information: Effort justification
from playing with the toy.[10] Later, when the children
were told that they could freely play with whatever toy Dissonance is aroused whenever individuals voluntarily
they wanted, the ones in the mild punishment condition engage in an unpleasant activity to achieve some desired
were less likely to play with the toy, even though the threat goal, and dissonance can be reduced by exaggerating the
had been removed. The children who were only mildly desirability of the goal. Aronson & Mills had individu-
threatened had to justify to themselves why they did not als undergo an embarrassing “initiation” to join a discus-
play with the toy. The degree of punishment by itself sion group. One group was asked to read twelve obscene
was not strong enough—so, to resolve their dissonance, words aloud; the other to read twelve words which were
the children had to convince themselves that the toy was related to sex but not obscene. Both groups were then
not worth playing with.[10] given headphones to listen in on a pre-recorded discus-
A 2012 study using a version of the forbidden toy sion “designed to be as dull and banal as possible” about
paradigm showed that hearing music reduces the devel- the sexual behavior of animals. Subjects were told that
opment of cognitive dissonance.[11] With no music play- the discussion was occurring in the next room. The in-
ing in the background, the control group of four-year-old dividuals whose initiation required obscene words evalu-
children were told to avoid playing with a particular toy. ated the group as more interesting than the individuals in
After playing alone, the children later devalued the for- the mild-initiation condition.[16]
bidden toy in their ranking, which is similar findings to Effort justification is related to the idea of a sunk cost.
earlier studies. However, in the variable group, classical
music was played in the background while the children Washing one’s hands has been shown to eliminate post-
played alone. In that group, the children did not later de- decisional dissonance, presumably because the disso-
value the toy. The researchers concluded that music may nance is commonly caused by moral disgust (with
inhibit cognitions that result in dissonance reduction.[11] oneself), which is related to disgust from unsanitary
conditions.[17][18]
Music is not the only example of an outside force lessen-
ing post-decisional dissonance; a 2010 study showed that
hand-washing had a similar effect.[12] 4 Examples

3.3 Free-choice paradigm 4.1 “The Fox and the Grapes”

In a different type of experiment conducted by Jack A classic illustration of cognitive dissonance is expressed
Brehm, 225 female students rated a series of common in the fable "The Fox and the Grapes" by Aesop (ca. 620–
appliances and were then allowed to choose one of two 564 BCE). In the story, a fox sees some high-hanging
appliances to take home as a gift. A second round of rat- grapes and wishes to eat them. When the fox is unable to
ings showed that the participants increased their ratings think of a way to reach them, he decides that the grapes
of the item they chose, and lowered their ratings of the are probably not worth eating, with the justification that
rejected item.[13] the grapes probably are not ripe or that they are sour
(hence the common phrase "sour grapes"). The moral
This can be explained in terms of cognitive dissonance.
that accompanies the story is “Any fool can despise what
When making a difficult decision, there are always aspects
he cannot get”. This example follows a pattern: one de-
of the rejected choice that one finds appealing and these
sires something, finds it unattainable, and reduces one’s
features are dissonant with choosing something else. In
dissonance by criticizing it. Jon Elster calls this pattern
other words, the cognition, “I chose X” is dissonant with
“adaptive preference formation”.[19]
the cognition, “There are some things I like about Y.”
More recent research has found similar results in four-
year-old children and capuchin monkeys.[14] 4.2 Other related phenomena
In addition to internal deliberations, the structuring of de-
cisions among other individuals may play a role in how an Cognitive dissonance has also been demonstrated to oc-
individual acts. Researchers in a 2013 study examined cur when people seek to:
social preferences and norms as related, in a linear man-
ner, to wage giving among three individuals. The first • Explain inexplicable feelings: When a disaster oc-
participant’s actions influenced the second’s own wage curs in a community, irrationally fearful rumors
4 5 APPLICATIONS OF RESEARCH

ing material that contradicts them.[23] For exam-

ple, a person who is politically right-leaning might
only watch news commentary that is from conser-
vative news sources just as left-leaning individu-
als might only watch news commentary from lib-
eral news sources. This bias is particularly appar-
ent when someone is faced with deeply held beliefs,
i.e., when a person has 'high commitment' to their
attitudes.[23]

Balance theory suggests people have a general tendency

to seek consonance between their views, and the views
or characteristics of others (e.g., a religious believer may
feel dissonance because their partner does not have the
same beliefs as he or she does, thus motivating the be-
liever to justify or rationalize this incongruence). People
may self-handicap so that any failures during an impor-
tant task are easier to justify (e.g., the student who drinks
the night before an important exam in response to his fear
of performing poorly).

5 Applications of research
In addition to explaining certain counter-intuitive human
behaviour, the theory of cognitive dissonance has practi-
cal applications in several fields.

5.1 Education
"The Fox and the Grapes" by Aesop. When the fox fails to
reach the grapes, he decides he does not want them after all.
Rationalization is often involved in reducing anxiety about con-
flicting cognitions, according to cognitive dissonance theory.

spread in nearby communities not involved in the

disaster because of the need of those who are not
threatened to justify their anxieties.[20]

• Minimize regret of irrevocable choices: Bettors at a

racetrack are more confident in their chosen horse
just after placing the bet because they cannot change
it (the bettors felt “post-decision dissonance”).[21]

• Justify behavior that opposed their views: Students

judge cheating less harshly after being induced to
cheat on a test.[22] An educator might introduce topics by challenging students’ intu-
itions. For instance, a student may be more willing to learn the
• Align one’s perceptions of a person with one’s be- real cause of the seasons after wrongly guessing that it has some-
haviour toward that person: the Ben Franklin ef- thing to do with changes in the distance of Earth’s orbit from the
fect refers to that statesman’s observation that the act Sun.
of performing a favour for a rival leads to increased
positive feelings toward that individual. Creating and resolving cognitive dissonance can have a
powerful impact on students’ motivation for learning.[24]
• Reaffirm already held beliefs: Congeniality bias (also For example, researchers have used the effort justifica-
referred to as confirmation bias) refers to how peo- tion paradigm to increase students’ enthusiasm for edu-
ple read or access information that affirms their cational activities by offering no external reward for stu-
already established opinions, rather than referenc- dents’ efforts: preschoolers who completed puzzles with
5.4 Consumer behavior 5

the promise of a reward were less interested in the puz- as campaigning against littering,[34] reducing prejudice to
zles later, as compared to preschoolers who were offered racial minorities,[35] and compliance with anti-speeding
no reward in the first place.[25] The researchers concluded campaigns.[36] The theory can also be used to explain rea-
that students who can attribute their work to an external sons for donating to charity.[37][38]
reward stop working in the absence of that reward, while
those who are forced to attribute their work to intrinsic
motivation came to find the task genuinely enjoyable. 5.4 Consumer behavior
Psychologists have incorporated cognitive dissonance
into models of basic processes of learning, notably Existing literature suggests that three main conditions ex-
constructivist models. Several educational interventions ist for arousal of dissonance in purchases: the decision
have been designed to foster dissonance in students by in- involved in the purchase must be important, such as in-
creasing their awareness of conflicts between prior beliefs volvement of a lot of money or psychological cost and
and new information (e.g., by requiring students to de- be personally relevant to the consumer, the consumer has
fend prior beliefs) and then providing or guiding students freedom in selecting among the alternatives, and finally,
to new, correct explanations that resolve the conflicts.[26] the decision involvement must be irreversible.[39]

For example, researchers have developed educational A study performed by Lindsay Mallikin shows that when
software that uses these principles to facilitate student consumers experience an unexpected price encounter,
questioning of complex subject matter.[27] Meta-analytic they adopt three methods to reduce dissonance:[40] Con-
methods suggest that interventions that provoke cognitive sumers may employ a strategy of constant information,
dissonance to achieve directed conceptual change have they may have a change in attitude, or they may engage in
been demonstrated across numerous studies to signifi- trivialization. Consumers employ the strategy of constant
cantly increase learning in science and reading.[26] information by engaging in bias and searching for infor-
mation that supports their prior beliefs. Consumers might
search for information about other retailers and substitute
5.2 Therapy products consistent with their belief states. Alternatively,
consumers may show change in attitude such as reevalu-
The general effectiveness of psychotherapy and psycho- ating price in relation to external reference prices or as-
logical intervention has been explained in part through sociating high or low prices with quality. Lastly, trivi-
cognitive dissonance theory.[28] Some social psycholo- alization may occur and the importance of the elements
gists have argued that the act of freely choosing a spe- of the dissonant relationship is reduced; consumers tend
cific therapy, together with the effort and money the client to trivialize importance of money, and thus of shopping
invests to continue the chosen therapy, positively influ- around, saving, and receiving a better deal.
ences the effectiveness of therapy.[29] This phenomenon Cognitive dissonance is also useful to explain and man-
was demonstrated in a study with overweight children, age post-purchase concerns. A consumer who feels an
in which causing the children to believe that they freely alternate purchase would have been better will likely not
chose the type of therapy they received resulted in greater buy the product again. To counter this, marketers have to
weight loss.[30] convince buyers constantly that the product satisfies their
In another example, individuals with ophidiophobia (fear need and thereby helps reduce their cognitive dissonance,
of snakes) who invested significant effort to engage in ac- ensuring repurchase of the same brand in the future. An
tivities without therapeutic value for their condition, but example of post-purchase dissonance resolution used in
were framed as legitimate and relevant therapy, showed a client relation is a salesperson congratulating his buyer
significant improvement in phobic symptoms.[31] In these on “having made the right choice”.
cases, and perhaps in many similar situations, patients At times cognitive dissonance is induced, rather than re-
came to feel better as a way to justify their efforts and solved, to market products. The Hallmark Cards tag line
ratify their choices. Beyond these observed short-term “When you care enough to send the very best” is an exam-
effects, effort expenditure in therapy also predicts long- ple of a marketing strategy that creates guilt in the buyer
term therapeutic change.[32] if he or she goes for a less expensive card. Such aggressive
marketing ensures that the recipient also is aware that the
product has a premium price. This encourages the con-
5.3 Promoting healthy and pro-social be- sumer to buy the expensive cards on special occasions.
havior

It has also been demonstrated that cognitive dissonance 5.5 Social engineering
can be used to promote behaviours such as increased
condom use.[33] Other studies suggest that cognitive dis- Social engineering as applied to security is the ex-
sonance can also be used to encourage individuals to en- ploitation of various social and psychological weaknesses
gage in prosocial behaviour under various contexts such in individuals and business structures, sometimes for
6 6 CHALLENGES AND ALTERNATIVE THEORIES

penetration testing but more often for nefarious purposes, Bem’s self-perception theory functions under the notion
such as espionage against businesses, agencies, and indi- that people develop attitudes by observing their own be-
viduals, typically toward the end of obtaining some illegal havior and concluding what attitudes caused it. This is
gain, either of useful but restricted or private information particularly true when internal cues are weak or ambigu-
or for monetary gain through such methods as phishing to ous. Individuals are in the same position as an observer—
obtain banking account access, or for purposes of identity meaning they must rely on external cues to infer their own
theft, blackmail, and so forth. Exploitation of weaknesses inner state. Self-perception theory suggests people adopt
caused by inducing cognitive dissonance in targets is one attitudes without accessing internal cognition and mood
of the techniques used by perpetrators. states.[41]
Bem interpreted people in the Festinger and Carlsmith
study or the induced-compliance paradigm as inferring
6 Challenges and alternative theo- their attitudes from their behavior. Thus, when asked
ries “Did you find the task interesting?" they decided that they
must have found it interesting because that is what they
told someone. Bem suggested that people who were paid
$20 had a salient, external incentive for their behavior and
were likely to perceive the money as their reason for say-
ing the task was interesting, rather than concluding that
they actually found it interesting.[42][43]
In many experimental situations, Bem’s theory and Fes-
tinger’s dissonance theory make identical predictions, but
only dissonance theory predicts the presence of unpleas-
ant tension or arousal. Lab experiments have verified
the presence of arousal in dissonance situations.[44][45]
This provides support for cognitive dissonance theory and
makes it unlikely that self-perception by itself can ac-
count for all the laboratory findings.
In 1969, Elliot Aronson reformulated the theory by link-
ing it to the self-concept, clarifying that cognitive dis-
sonance arises from conflicts between cognitions when
those conflicts threaten a person’s normally positive self-
image. Thus, Aronson reinterpreted the findings of the
original Festinger and Carlsmith study using the induced-
compliance paradigm, stating that the dissonance was
between the cognition, “I am an honest person” and
the cognition, “I lied to someone about finding the task
interesting.”[46] Other psychologists have argued that
A lawyer may experience the negative tension of dissonance if maintaining cognitive consistency is a way to protect pub-
they must defend, and call “innocent”, a client that they think is lic self-image, rather than private self-concept.[47] How-
actually guilty. On Aronson’s view, however, the lawyer may ever, a recent result[48] seems to rule out such an expla-
feel dissonance specifically because falsely calling the defendant nation by showing revaluation of items following a choice
“innocent” conflicts with the lawyer’s own self-concept of being
even when people have forgotten their choices.
an honest person.

While cognitive dissonance theory has been utilized in 6.2 Balance theory (“P-O-X” Theory)
experiments and is generally (although not entirely) ac- (Heider)
cepted by those in the psychology field, there are alterna-
tive theories that account for human attitudes and behav- Main article: Balance theory
iors.

Fritz Heider proposed a motivational theory of attitude

6.1 Self-perception theory (Bem) change that functions on the idea that humans are driven
to establish and maintain psychological balance. This
Daryl Bem was an early critic of cognitive dissonance drive is known as the consistency motive—the urge to
theory. He proposed self-perception theory as a more maintain one’s values and beliefs over time. According
parsimonious alternative explanation of the experimen- to balance theory there are three things interacting: (1)
tal results. According to Bem, people do not think much you (P), (2) another person (O), and (3) an element (X).
about their attitudes, let alone whether they are in conflict. These are each positioned at one point of a triangle and
6.5 Averse consequences vs. inconsistency (Cooper & Fazio) 7

share two relations:[41] 6.5 Averse consequences vs. inconsistency

(Cooper & Fazio)
1. Unit relations – things and people that belong to-
gether based on similarity, proximity, fate, etc. During the 1980s, Cooper and Fazio argued that disso-
nance was caused by aversive consequences, rather than
2. Sentiment relations – evaluations of people and
inconsistency. According to this interpretation, the belief
things (liking, disliking)
that lying is wrong and hurtful, not the inconsistency be-
tween cognitions, is what makes people feel bad.[51] Sub-
As individuals, we seek a balanced state with harmonious sequent research, however, found that people experience
relations between the three positions (3 positive or 2 neg- dissonance even when they feel they have not done any-
ative, 1 positive): thing wrong. For example, Harmon-Jones and colleagues
P = you O = John X = John’s dog showed that people experience dissonance even when the
consequences of their statements are beneficial—as when
“I don't like John” they convince sexually active students to use condoms,
“John has a dog” when they, themselves are not using condoms.[52]
“I don't like the dog either”

We also avoid unbalanced states (3 negatives or 2 positive, 6.6 Free-choice paradigm criticism (Chen
1 negative) et al.)
P = you O = your child X = picture your child drew
Chen and colleagues have criticized the free-choice
“I love my child” paradigm and have suggested that the “Rank, choice,
“She drew me this picture” rank” method of studying dissonance is invalid.[53] They
argue that research design relies on the assumption that
“I love this picture”
if the subject rates options differently in the second sur-
vey, then the subject’s attitudes towards the options have
6.3 Cost-benefit analysis (Dupuit) therefore changed. They show that there are other rea-
sons one might get different rankings in the second survey
Jules Dupuit claims behaviors and cognitions can be un- — perhaps the subjects were largely indifferent between
derstood from an economic standpoint such that individ- choices. Although some follow-up studies have found
uals engage in the systematic processing and comparison supportive evidence for Chen’s concerns,[54] other studies
of the costs and benefits of a decision. This process helps that have controlled for Chen’s concerns have not, instead
justify and assess the feasibility of a decision and provides suggesting that the mere act of making a choice can in-
a basis for comparison (determining if the benefits out- deed change preferences.[14][55][56] Nevertheless, this is-
weigh the costs and to what extent). Although this analy- sue remains under active investigation.[57]
sis works well in economic situations, humans are ineffi-
cient when it comes to comparing costs and benefits.[49]
6.7 Action and/or motivation based model
(Harmon-Jones)
6.4 Self-discrepancy theory (Higgins)
E. Tory Higgins proposed that individuals have three This model states that inconsistencies in cognitions make
selves that they compare themselves to: people distressed since inconsistencies can interfere with
actions. A number of cognitive strategies are then im-
plemented. One may “freely” choose to act in behaviors
1. Actual self – representation of the attributes you be-
that are not consistent with a current attitude or belief,
lieve you actually possess (basic self-concept)
but later try to alter their belief to match a current behav-
2. Ideal self – attributes you would ideally like to ior. Dissonance occurs because cognitions do not match
possess (hopes, aspiration, what motivates you to actions. If one changes one’s attitude after dissonance oc-
change/improve) curs, one then has an obligation to commit to the behav-
ior. When dissonance happens, the person has a negative
3. Ought self – attributes you believe you should pos- affective state that makes them reconsider their behav-
sess (duties, obligations, responsibilities) ior to solve the inconsistency that is the problem (Beck-
mann and Kuhl, 1984, Harmon-Jones, 1999, Harmon-
When these self-guides are contradictory they result Jones, 2000a, Jones and Gerard, 1967, McGregor et al.,
in emotional discomfort. Individuals are motivated 1999 and Newby-Clark et al., 2002).) As a person works
to reduce self-discrepancy (the gap between two self- towards a commitment, then the motivational process is
guides).[50] activated in the left frontal cortex.[58][59][60][61][62]
8 8 MODELING IN NEURAL NETWORKS

7 Neuroscience findings Cognitive dissonance has been associated with left frontal
activity in the cortex (Harmon-Jones, 1999 and Harmon-
Jones and Harmon-Jones, 2002). In addition, the left
frontal cortex has been associated with anger, with anger
supporting a motivational purpose behind its anger show-
ing the left frontal activity being active. Together, cog-
nitive dissonance and anger are supported with the mo-
tivational directional model. Approach motivation is as-
sociated with the left frontal cortex when it can be de-
tected that a person may able to take control of a situ-
ation that may have made them angry. Conversely, if a
person does not have control of changing the situation,
then there is no motivation involved and other emotions
may arise.[59][67][68]
The anterior cingulate cortex activity increases when er-
rors occur and are being monitored as well as having
behavioral conflicts with the self-concept as a form of
There is evidence suggesting that the more the anterior cingulate higher-level thinking (Amodio et al., 2004). A study
cortex signals conflict, the more dissonance a person experiences was done to test the prediction that the left frontal cortex
and the more their attitudes may change would have increased activity. University students had
to write a paper depending on if they were assigned to
Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), a high-choice or low-choice condition. The low-choice
Van Veen and colleagues investigated the neural basis of condition required student to write about supporting a
cognitive dissonance in a modified version of the clas- 10% increase in tuition at their university. The point
sic induced compliance paradigm. While in the scanner, of this condition was to see how significant the counter-
participants “argued” that the uncomfortable MRI envi- choice may affect a person’s ability to cope. The high-
ronment was nevertheless a pleasant experience. The re- choice condition asked students to write in favor of tuition
searchers replicated the basic induced compliance find- increase as if it was their choice and that it was completely
ings; participants in an experimental group enjoyed the voluntary. EEG was used to analyze students before writ-
scanner more than participants in a control group who ing the essay as dissonance is at its highest during this
simply were paid to make their argument.[63] time (Beauvois and Joule, 1996). High-choice condition
Importantly, responding counter-attitudinally activated participants showed a higher level of the left frontal cor-
the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex and the anterior tex than the low-choice participants. Results have shown
insular cortex; furthermore, the degree to which these that the initial experience of dissonance can be apparent
regions were activated predicted individual participants’ in the anterior cingulate cortex, then the left frontal cor-
degree of attitude change. Van Veen and colleagues argue tex is activated, which also activates the approach moti-
that these findings support the original dissonance theory vational system to reduce anger.[69][70]
by Festinger, and support the “conflict theory” of anterior There may be evolutionary forces behind cognitive dis-
cingulate functioning.[63] sonance reduction. Researchers in a 2007 study exam-
Using the free choice paradigm, Sharot and colleagues ined how preschool children and capuchin monkeys re-
have shown that after making a choice, activity in the acted when offered the choice between two similar op-
striatum changes to reflect the new evaluation of the tions. The researchers had the two subject groups choose
choice object, increasing if the object was chosen and between two different kinds of stickers and candies. Af-
decreasing if it was rejected.[64] Follow-up studies have ter choosing, the two groups were offered a new choice
largely confirmed these results.[55][65][66] between the item not chosen and a similarly attractive op-
tion as the first. In line with cognitive dissonance the-
Subsequent fMRI studies, also using the free choice ory, the children and the monkeys chose the “novel” op-
paradigm, have examined the decision-making process tion over their originally unchosen option, even though all
in the brain. A 2010 study showed that during decision- had similar values. The researchers concluded that there
making processes where the participant is trying to re- were possible development and evolutionary forces be-
duce dissonance, activity increased in the right-inferior hind cognitive dissonance reduction.[71]
frontal gyrus, medial fronto-parietal region and ventral
striatum, whereas activity decreased in the anterior
insula.[66] Researchers concluded that rationalization ac-
tivity may take place quickly (within seconds) without 8 Modeling in neural networks
conscious deliberation. In addition, the researchers stated
that the brain may engage emotional responses in the Neural network models of cognition have provided the
decision-making process.[66] necessary framework to integrate the empirical research
 9

done on cognitive dissonance and attitudes into one model • The Great Disappointment of 1844 is an example of
of explanation of attitude formation and change.[72] cognitive dissonance in a religious context.
Various neural network models have been developed to • Illusion-of-truth effect states that a person is more
predict how cognitive dissonance influence an individual’s likely to believe a familiar statement than an unfa-
attitude and behavior. These include: miliar one.

• Parallel constraint satisfaction processes[72] • Information overload

• The meta-cognitive model (MCM) of attitudes[73] • Liminality

• Adaptive connectionist model of cognitive • Limit situation
dissonance[74]
• Metanoia (psychology)
• Attitudes as constraint satisfaction model[75]
• Narcissistic rage and narcissistic injury

9 See also • Rationalization (making excuses)

• Shame
• Affective forecasting
• Speciesism
• Ambivalence, particularly the reference to The
agony of ambivalence and ways to resolve it,[76] • Techniques of neutralization
Love–hate relationship, Psychoanalytic concepts of
love and hate, and Splitting (psychology) • Terror management theory

• Antiprocess • True-believer syndrome demonstrates carrying a

post-cognitive-dissonance belief regardless of new
• Belief perseverance information.
• Buyer’s remorse is a form of post-decision disso- • Wishful thinking
nance.
• Memory conformity
• Carnism
• Choice-supportive bias is a memory bias that makes
past choices seem better than they actually were. 10 References
• Cognitive bias
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In: Harmon-Jones, E., Mills, J., Cognitive Dissonance: [71] Egan, L.C.; Santos, L.R.; Bloom, P. (2007). “The ori-
Perspectives on a Pivotal Theory in Social Psychology. gins of cognitive dissonance: Evidence from children and
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[60] Harmon-Jones, E (2000a). “Cognitive dissonance
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the absence of aversive consequences”. Personality Gestalt principles: (Re)Introducing cognitive dynamics to
and Social Psychology Bulletin. 26 (12): 1490–1501. social psychology”. Personality and Social Psychology Re-
doi:10.1177/01461672002612004. view. 1 (1): 26–53. doi:10.1207/s15327957pspr0101_3.
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(PDF). Journal of Neuroscience. 29 (12): 3760–3765. [76] Van Harreveld, F.; der Pligt, J.; de Liver, Y. (2009). “The
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PMID 21130888. 11 Further reading
[66] Jarcho, Johanna M.; Berkman, Elliot T.; Lieberman, • Cooper, J (2007), Cognitive dissonance: Fifty years
Matthew D. (2010). “The neural basis of rationalization: of a classic theory, London: Sage publications,
cognitive dissonance reduction during decision-making”.
ISBN 978-1-4129-2972-1, retrieved 6 March 2013
Social Cognitive Affective Neuroscience. 6 (4): 460–
467. doi:10.1093/scan/nsq054. PMC 3150852 . PMID • Gawronski, B., & Strack, F. (Eds.). (2012). Cog-
20621961. nitive consistency: A fundamental principle in social
cognition. New York: Guilford Press.
[67] Harmon-Jones, E (2003). “Anger and the behavioural ap-
proach system”. Personality and Individual Differences. • Harmon-Jones, E., & J. Mills. (Eds.) (1999). Cog-
35 (5): 995–1005. doi:10.1016/s0191-8869(02)00313- nitive Dissonance: Progress on a Pivotal Theory in
6. Social Psychology. Washington, DC: American Psy-
[68] Harmon-Jones, E (2004). “Contributions From Research chological Association.
On Anger And Cognitive Dissonance To Understand-
• Metin, I.; Metin Camgöz, S. (2011). “The Advances
ing The Motivational Functions Of Asymmetrical Frontal
in the History of Cognitive Dissonance Theory”
Brain Activity”. Biological Psychology. 67 (1–2): 51–76.
doi:10.1016/j.biopsycho.2004.03.003. PMID 15130525. (PDF). International Journal of Humanities and So-
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[69] Amodio, D.M; Harmon-Jones, E; Devine, P.G; Curtin,
J.J; Hartley, S (2004). “A Covert Neural signals for • Tavris, C.; Aronson, E. (2007). Mistakes were made
the control of unintentional race bias”. Psychologi- (but not by me): Why we justify foolish beliefs, bad
cal Science. 15 (2): 88–93. doi:10.1111/j.0963- decisions, and hurtful acts. Orlando, FL: Harcourt.
7214.2004.01502003.x. PMID 14738514. ISBN 978-0-15-101098-1.

[70] Beauvois, J. L., Joule, R. V., 1996. A radical dissonance • McLeod, S. “Cognitive Dissonance”. Retrieved 3
theory. London: Taylor and Francis. December 2013.
 13

12 External links
• Cognitive dissonance entry in The Skeptic’s Dictio-
nary
• Festinger and Carlsmith’s original paper

• Leon Festinger, An Introduction to the Theory of

Cognitive Dissonance (1956)

Videos

• TEDxTalk by Ash Donaldson on cognitive dis-

sonance and how it affects decision-making on
YouTube

• Song by Brad Wray “Cognitive Dissonance (Disso-

nant and Justified)" on YouTube

• Dummiez Movie: Cognitive Dissonance Theory on

YouTube
14 13 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

13 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

13.1 Text
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