THE COGNITIVE DISSONANCE

(English) cognitive dissonance) - the experience of discomfort arising from actions that go against one's own beliefs(attitudes). internal problem, intrapersonal conflict may be resolved by changing the 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 incentive 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. As an illustration, the already a household name with a smoker: 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) change knowledge, c this case- 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 positive side. 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 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. a business. 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 for such behavior a person has, 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 dissonant sounding, cognitio knowledge, cognition) concept in social psychology, explaining 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 contradict 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

Hello, dear readers of the blog site. During conversation educated people often you can hear unfamiliar words borrowed from other languages ​​or professions.

No one wants to look like an ignoramus in the eyes of others, so let's try to expand our conceptual apparatus even more and find out the meaning of a mysterious term similar to a psychiatrist's diagnosis - cognitive dissonance.

What is it, in simple terms it's easy to explain. This is a conflict (internal), which occurs due to the discrepancy between what you saw (perceived) and what idea you had about it before. it clash of previously formed ideas and reality.

It's harder to figure out if it's time to start worrying if he happened to you.

Cognitive dissonance as it is

Like most terms in psychological science, the concept of cognitive dissonance sounds mysterious, but hides a fairly simple phenomenon. It is formed from two words cognitio(know, know) and dissonantia(inconsistency, “against”, contradiction), which in translation can mean “feel inconsistency”, “feel discomfort”.

Let's take an example. Do you have a friend with whom you periodically exchange greetings? Imagine that at this moment you will see an exact copy of him next to him (a twin that you did not expect to exist)? Your condition can just be described as cognitive dissonance.

There is a phrase that is very close in meaning - conflict within oneself. All people impose patterns on the events happening to them and around them (they create attitudes, behavior patterns for themselves). So convenient. Breaking the template causes a state close to shock or stupor. The same dissonance (contradiction, psychological discomfort).

You will have a slight disruption (break) of the pattern if, for example, you see a beggar who has been given alms for five minutes getting into his luxury car. Or if you catch a nice, kind, quiet, polite person yelling at their child.

A priori be in a state of dissonance the person is not comfortable and he will seek to get away from it (allow, avoid, overlook, ignore). For example, a person will justify his own “bad” behavior to himself in order to reduce the degree of internal conflict (so that he can live with it).

Psychological discomfort also arises when we make some choice for ourselves that affects our future destiny. Having chosen one of the conflicting attitudes, we will strive to create conditions for a comfortable stay in it. For example, by choosing an unrighteous path, we will eventually find excuses for ourselves, but at the moment of choice we will experience cognitive dissonance, which we will try to eliminate as quickly as possible.

Well, having the experience of "stepping on a rake", we will continue to try to bypass and not take to heart such situations when an internal conflict (psychological discomfort) can happen. In addition, we just get used to the fact that our idea of ​​\u200b\u200bsomething itself may well be erroneous.

Striving for psychological balance

We can experience psychological balance only when we are in the "comfort zone", and the ideas about the world around us, which are laid down in us by genetics and upbringing, are confirmed by the real "picture". In other words, the supposed coincides with the actual, and the desired coincides with the possible.

We are so arranged that we feel confident only when when everything around is logical and understandable. If this does not happen, an unconscious feeling of discomfort, danger and anxiety sets in.

The brain begins to work in an enhanced mode, processing incoming information. Brain activity is directed to smooth out this bipolarity and balance the situation to a comfortable state (consonance).

Examples of psychological dissonance from life

It’s good if the situation that plunges you into cognitive dissonance does not concern you personally. I saw - scratched the back of my head - went on. It is much worse if life circumstances put in a situation. The clash of the base and the superstructure, the desired and the actual, life principles and the requirements of the external environment is sometimes so contradictory that it can drive a person into a deep dead end.

For the first time, a person consciously encounters this in the family and school. There are many examples. “Smoking is harmful, if I see it, I’ll whip it,” says dad, blowing smoke rings. “You can’t take someone else’s,” Mom says, bringing a couple of packages of printer paper from work.

"It's not good to cheat," they both say, and push the bag under the seat so as not to pay for luggage. In a child whose parental authority is at first indestructible, cognitive dissonance begins This means that he cannot make a choice.

Subsequently, the parents are surprised - the child, they say, is completely out of hand, does not respect, and is deaf to educational measures of influence. And this is exactly the consequences of the dissonance that left its mark on the fragile psyche of the child.

If an adult, faced with a controversial situation, shrugged his shoulders, twisted his finger at his temple, laughed, or, freaking out, continued to go his own way, then at a tender age discrepancy between the known and the seen can cause tangible psychological trauma.

And since dual situations waiting for a person throughout life, then the choice has to be made regularly. So a man who loves women with curvaceous forms, for the sake of social status, can date a model. But at the same time, the state of unconscious discomfort will increase in him until he reaches a critical point.

A woman brought up on patriarchal values ​​will build a career, tormented by guilt that her husband and children do not get her attention. And this is.

After graduating from school, the girl enters medical academy to continue the family dynasty, although since childhood she dreamed of becoming an archaeologist. Perhaps, having matured, she will change her profession in order to get rid of the constant psychological stress associated with an unloved job ().

It is certainly not the most difficult life situations, there are many more variations. It will not sound like an exaggeration that they lie in wait for a person at every turn. So try to keep your mental health here ...

Tricks of the mind to deal with cognitive dissonance

Surprisingly, our brain has already come up with everything without our participation. He has methods to deal with cognitive dissonance, and ways to avoid it altogether.

To reduce the level of psychological stress, a person unconsciously uses the following techniques.

1. Refuse. Sometimes you need to give up your beliefs so much that you know that if you follow the lead of external circumstances, you will stop respecting yourself.
2. convince yourself. Sometimes it happens that external circumstances are so strong, and so much depends on them, that it is easier to give up your principles. It is possible to adopt the technique positive thinking, which allows you to find the positive even in a hopeless situation, and present it in the most favorable way.
3. To avoid. In order not to fall into a psychological trap, you can stop your participation in events if they have taken an undesirable direction of development, and in the future even prevent them from approaching.
4. weed out. The cunningly arranged brain is able to turn off the perception of those facts, memories and phenomena that are not comfortable for us.

All these processes take place at the subconscious level, so we cannot even explain to ourselves the reason for our action. And their goal is to keep a person in a safe zone, preventing him from getting into an uncomfortable situation that is difficult to understand.

Elastic conscience eliminates any psychological dissonances

Having committed an act contrary to his beliefs, a person usually tries to reconcile with conscience. The inner feeling in a conflict with conscience is perceived as very unpleasant, so any sane individual tries in every possible way to avoid getting into such slippery situations.

The human psyche is labile, and through self-justification, a person is able to reconcile himself with the most seemingly disgusting state of affairs. On the one hand, this is how a protective mechanism works, which does not allow a person to “go crazy” when he gets into superstress conditions. On the other hand, it comes into play adaptation mechanism helping to adapt to any uncomfortable life situation.

But in some individuals this is overdeveloped. In this case, an unattractive phenomenon will be observed, which the people aptly called "elastic conscience." Each of us met people with a similar characteristic - there are not so few of them. If you constantly fight with conscience or look for excuses for it, then it becomes completely dulled, and no cognitive dissonance will help to awaken it.

Life without "pangs of conscience" will become not only easier, but also more lonely. It is understandable - it is unlikely that others will stand in line to get a friend of an unscrupulous and unprincipled person.

In the world view on cognitive dissonance, or rather on such a variety of it as pangs of conscience, is generally similar. In the same time Eastern culture applies to them than Western. The moral principles of Asian countries are more related to the rules adopted in society, and people follow them without much thought. Christian morality is dictated from within, from the heart of man.

The Orthodox tradition, in particular, explains the voice of the Guardian Angel, which tells a person what is good and what is bad. It is impossible to silence him, therefore it can be very difficult for a decent person to appease the pangs of conscience.

Is it all terrible

Cognitive dissonance isn't always bad. human brain by the age of 25, it ceases to develop, because the main part of the information about the world around has already been accumulated and processed. But it can be periodically provoked to further improvement, bringing oneself into a state of cognitive dissonance.

In order for the mind not to get stuck at the level of a 25-year-old youth, it is recommended to periodically artificially take yourself out of your comfort zone- change the type of activity, place of residence or work, learn something new.

This helps artificially stimulate brain activity, pushing our gray matter to a new round of development. The world is changing, and in order to feel comfortable in it, you need to constantly stimulate yourself to self-improvement. It is no coincidence that the term cognition in Latin means " recognize».

And the last thing that can be useful in a smart conversation is to thank for the emergence of a new field of science - we owe it to Leon Festinger, who introduced it into the scientific field back in the mid-1950s.

Good luck to you! See you soon on the blog pages site

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Wake up - what does this word mean?

Cognitive dissonance is a state of psychological discomfort caused by a collision in the mind of a person of conflicting knowledge, beliefs, beliefs, ideas, behavioral attitudes, regarding a certain object or phenomenon. The theory of cognitive dissonance was proposed by Leon Festinger in 1957. According to her, the state of cognitive dissonance does not suit a person, therefore, an unconscious desire arises in him - to harmonize his system of knowledge and beliefs, or, to put it scientific language to achieve cognitive consonance. In this article, friends, I will tell you about cognitive dissonance in a simple language that most people understand, so that you have a complete and clear idea of ​​\u200b\u200bthis negative motivating state.

To begin with, let's find out why the state of cognitive dissonance is negative and what exactly and why it prompts us. Perhaps, dear readers, you have noticed that your brain is constantly striving to put things in order in everything that you see and hear around you. And how often do we see and hear things in our lives that do not agree with our own attitudes? Well, let's say, not often, but this happens periodically, you see. You and I sometimes observe logical inconsistency in the actions of other people, we observe events that, in their structure, may not correspond to our past experience and our ideas about them, that is, we may not understand the pattern of the events we observe, they may seem illogical to us. Also, sometimes we can observe the inconsistency of cognitive elements with cultural patterns, that is, to put it simply, with norms. This is when a person does something not the way it should be done - from our point of view. It is supposed to be done this way, but he does it differently, violating certain rules. So, when you see such inconsistencies, illogicality, inconsistency - what feelings do you experience? Negative, right? This is a feeling of discomfort, a feeling of slight irritation, and in some cases a feeling of loss, anxiety and even despair. That's why when we talk about cognitive dissonance, we're talking about a negative arousal state. Now let's see what it prompts us to do.

And it encourages us to bring something in line with established norms, rules, beliefs, knowledge. We need a clear, clear, correct picture of the world, in which everything happens according to the laws we understand and corresponds to our knowledge and beliefs. In such a world we feel comfortable and safe. Therefore, in a state of dissonance, our brain tends to reduce the degree of discrepancy between the settings that we adhere to. That is, he strives to achieve cognitive consonance - mutual consistency, balance of the state of the elements of the cognitive system. This is one of Leon Festinger's hypotheses. According to his second hypothesis, an individual, in an effort to reduce the discomfort that has arisen in him, tries to bypass situations that can increase this discomfort, for example, by avoiding certain information that is uncomfortable for him. I will put it differently - our brain tries to avoid the discrepancy between what it perceives through our senses and what it knows. To put it even more simply, our brain tries to achieve a correspondence between the external and internal world in various ways, including by filtering out certain information. Below I will go into more detail about how he does it.

Thus, when there is a discrepancy between two cognitions [knowledge, opinions, concepts], a person experiences cognitive dissonance and experiences psychological discomfort. And this discomfort encourages him to do what I wrote above, that is, to try to bring everything in line with his knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, rules and norms. And this makes some sense. Our brains don't work that way by chance. The fact is that the consistency of our knowledge is necessary for us to understand the reality in which we find ourselves. And this understanding, in turn, is necessary for us to develop an appropriate model of behavior in a given situation that can arise in this reality. Which in turn does the world more predictable for us, and we are more prepared for it, which makes us feel more secure. The need for security is one of the basic human needs.

We must have an explanation for everything and everything that we observe in our lives. All the phenomena we observe must comply with our logic and be understandable to us. However, it is impossible to understand everything that is in this world, and even more so to coordinate everything with everything. Therefore, the state of cognitive dissonance haunts us constantly. The contradictions between what we knew, know and learn at the present time, and what is happening in reality, will always be. There will be because we live in a world of uncertainty and unpredictability, and this scares us. And since our brain cannot feel comfortable in a state of uncertainty, because its task is to protect us from all sorts of dangers for which we must be prepared, and therefore must be aware of them, it will always try to predict, explain, to justify, to investigate all the phenomena observed by him, with the help of the senses. That is, our brain constantly draws for itself a complete picture of the world, based on the data it has about it, trying to make this picture complete and understandable to itself, which often forces people with superficial knowledge of various things to mistakenly believe that they know everything. But we cannot know everything, no matter how smart we are.

In life, there are always situations that cause dissonance. For example, dissonance occurs whenever we need to make a choice. The need to make a choice plunges us into a state of uncertainty, we do not know exactly where one or another of our decisions can lead us, but we want to know. We want to make the right choice, we want to get the best result of all possible outcomes. But the paradox lies in the fact that often we do not even have an idea of ​​what may be the best result for us. Thus, the more important the choice is for a person, the higher the degree of dissonance, the more restless we feel. Therefore, some people like it when someone else makes a choice for them, and at the same time they want this choice to be as correct as possible. However, such a transfer of responsibility to other people, in the medium and long term, as a rule, does not justify itself.

A person, as we have already found out, does not like to be in a state of dissonance, so he seeks to completely get rid of it. But if this, for one reason or another, cannot be done, then a person seeks to reduce it, by all means available to him. And there are several of these ways. Let's take a closer look at them.

First, in order to bring his attitudes in line, a person can change his behavior in order to make it as correct as possible, primarily in his own eyes. Consider a simple example - a smoker can learn that smoking is harmful to health. A good example, by the way, life. So, after he finds out, he will have a choice - to quit smoking so as not to harm his health, or, to find an excuse for this bad habit of his. Or, he may avoid the topic altogether so as not to think about it. Suppose that a person does not want to change his behavior, that is, does not want to quit smoking. Then he can begin to deny that smoking is harmful to his health, based on the information he dug up somewhere, according to which, smoking is not only not harmful, but even beneficial to human health. Or, as I said, he may avoid information that indicates the harm of smoking in order to feel comfortable. In general, a person will make a decision anyway. After all, our behavior must correspond to our knowledge, our attitudes, rules. We must be sure that we are doing the right thing. Or our knowledge must match our behavior. Of course, it is wiser to change your behavior to bring it into line with common sense. If something harms us, we should avoid it, and not look for an excuse for it. But our brain can deceive itself, and it often does. Comfort is more important to him than objectivity.

Secondly, in order to reduce dissonance or get rid of it, a person can change his knowledge about something without changing, as we have already found out above, his behavior. That is, having information that does not suit him, a person who does not want to change his behavior in order to get rid of dissonance can convince himself of the opposite, in order to thus save himself from contradictions. For example, the same smoker can change his beliefs about the dangers of smoking, with the help of the information he found, according to which - at least smoking is not harmful. Or harmful, but not much to worry about because of it. In life, they usually say this - you can’t change the situation - change your attitude towards it in order to feel comfortable. And you know what, that's really wise advice. We know too little about this world to judge the correctness or incorrectness of certain things and phenomena. Sometimes, it is not superfluous for us to think about why we hold the beliefs that we hold, and also it will not be superfluous to doubt the correctness of the knowledge we have. It will be especially useful to do this in situations where this knowledge does not allow us to explain what is happening in real life. But if we talk about the example of smoking, then in my opinion, it is still better to adhere to those beliefs that indicate its harm than to look for evidence to the contrary. Tobacco companies will find the right words for those who want to continue to poison themselves, but at the same time not feel psychological discomfort due to the wrong behavior. So in this case, it is better to change your behavior, rather than change your knowledge.

Thirdly, if necessary, we can filter the information that comes to us that is related to a particular issue, a problem that we do not want to deal with. That is, the smoker can only hear what he wants to hear and see what he wants to see. If he hears that smoking is harmful to his health, he will miss this information. And if he hears out of the corner of his ear about the benefits of smoking, he will catch on to this information and use it as evidence of the correctness of his actions. In other words, we can selectively approach the information we receive, weeding out facts that cause us discomfort and exaggerating the importance of those facts that justify our position in life.

Thus, you and I see the clear need of our brain to immerse us in a state of certainty and security, in which all our thoughts and actions will have a logical explanation. Therefore, by the way, we do not like to revise our views on certain things when we come to the conclusion that they are wrong. We are trying to protect our beliefs through logical explanations of their regularity and correctness, so as not to radically change our picture of the world. A rare person can afford to change his beliefs, based on objective information and common sense, and not on his need for psychological comfort. But personally, I do not welcome the desire of a person to avoid or prevent the appearance of dissonance. I believe that avoiding information that is relevant to a particular problem of a person and conflicts with the information he already has on it is fraught with negative consequences. Say, avoiding information that smoking is harmful to health, a person will not solve this problem for himself, while accepting this information will allow him to take a broader look at his life in order to see himself in it as a non-smoker and at the same time the same, or even happier. , like now. It is my deep conviction that a person always needs a slight state of discomfort and even anxiety.

The world should not seem to us logical, understandable, problem-free, safe, predictable, because it is not. There will always be something in it that does not correspond to our knowledge and beliefs, and it is unlikely that we will ever be able to learn everything, understand and make ends meet. The world in which we live is an eternal riddle for our mind, and it will be better if it constantly solves it than if it decides everything for itself once and for all and plunges us into a state of unsafe comfort for us. This state of comfort and safety, based on the certainty and consistency of our attitudes, will reduce our survival skills.

The phrase "cognitive dissonance" is probably on everyone's lips. However, not every individual knows what it is. And how would you react if I say that every person, regardless of age, has experienced this state many times in his life to a greater or lesser extent?

Are you interested, dear reader? Then I propose to move on to reading the main material of this article and forever understand for yourself what cognitive dissonance is. And also how it is dangerous and whether it is dangerous; how to deal with it, and again whether it is necessary.

Description of the phenomenon

First of all, I would like to clarify the meaning of the term "cognitive". In our case, we are talking about human mental processes that provide us with rational knowledge. That is, the cognitive components of the mind are:

• memory,
• Attention,
• thinking,
• perception,
• understanding,
• actions,
• thoughts.

Speaking exaggeratedly, this is the knowledge, skills and abilities of a person, providing him with a comfortable life in society and with himself (but more on that later). Thus, we can say that in the aggregate it is our ability to live.

For example, citizen Petrov maintains his own budget. He knows that he had an unexpected expense this month, which staggered him a little, but friends suggest that he go to unwind. Petrov considers his funds and understands that the campaign is canceled, because otherwise he will not be able to pay for the apartment. That is, using all the cognitive processes, he made a reasonable decision.

Dissonance is inconsistency. Then cognitive dissonance is a mismatch of mental processes. For example, experience and perception, motives and beliefs. Or, to put it even more simply, a violation of mental balance. Most often there is a discrepancy between “I want / do not want” and “should”.

In the phenomenon of cognitive dissonance, there are several strong points that simplify the understanding of this phenomenon:

1. Inconsistency or inconsistency between two components (thoughts, beliefs, decisions, and so on).
2. A contradiction can arise only between the links of one chain, that is, both states have a common subject (problem). For example, "I have to visit my relative, but I don't want to do it because I can't forgive him for an old grudge." Or the anguish of having to go when everything is already done (date omitted). The subject (problem) is a relative. Contradictory elements are personal desires and social attitudes.
3. When understanding the contradiction that has arisen, the person begins to experience mental discomfort (“I don’t know what to do. I’m literally torn apart from not understanding how it would be better to do it” - familiar, isn’t it?).
4. After realizing the imbalance, the search for a solution begins. The solution is to change one of the conflicting components.
5. The original theory speaks of "adjusting" personal attitudes and views to an already completed action. However, the modern understanding of the phenomenon of spiritual contradiction does not exclude the opposite.

Several factors increase the inconsistency: subjectivity (the consequences should be unpleasant or unacceptable for the person himself), publicity, recognition by a person of responsibility for the undesirable result of his actions. The latter is worth explaining.

Imagine a person suffering from alcoholism, but trying to quit. During breakdowns, he does not refer to a dysfunctional childhood, but recognizes his own weakness of willpower. A person without internal responsibility (control) cannot develop cognitive dissonance. To put it simply, he will always find an excuse for himself.

In the original theory of cognitive dissonance, the leading role was given to self-persuasion, the ratio of attitudes and human behavior.

According to the author of the theory, behavior can influence attitudes in exactly the same way as attitudes affect behavior. Example: “I have already done this more than once, the point is to change something. Especially if he (she) still considers me a scoundrel.

So, cognitive dissonance can arise against the background of lies, deceit, a vile act. That is, this is a feeling of shame and disrespect for what a person has done to himself after committing an immoral (by personal standards) act.

An example of a small dissonance is a deceitful phrase. To resolve this conflict is simple - to tell the truth. A more dangerous version of dissonance is clearly described by the following situation.

• The police officer had to shoot the child during the operation.
• Or such a case: a repeatedly convicted Nazi (a fascist as a member of a subculture) was admitted to the hospital. On the one hand, medical workers took the Hippocratic oath and cannot allow a person to die (whoever he may be), on the other hand, he killed many people and will probably do it more than once. Whatever decision the doctor makes, the likelihood of developing dissonance is high.
• It is not easy for those people whose profession is connected with keeping secrets. For example, the work of a psychologist. Tormented by internal contradictions, a person can visit a psychologist and “throw out” his torment on him. But what if we are talking about multiple murders or an impending terrorist attack? What should a psychologist do with this information? On the one hand - the code and the rule of confidentiality, and on the other - civic duty. Alas, cognitive dissonance is inevitable.

But not only in a professional situation there is a "suspended" state. Nobody is safe from it. If, after reading the previous material, you are convinced that you are experiencing a state of internal inconsistency, then read on for how to resolve this situation.

How is it solved

Cognitive dissonance can be alleviated or completely eliminated in several ways. Beforehand, it is worth clarifying that dissonance can be both an intrapersonal contradiction, and an intergroup one, or between a group and an individual. So what can be done:

• Acceptance of one's actions (or actions of the group) and change of personal beliefs (change of attitude to the situation).
• Changing the environment (break up with friends if their behavior does not match your beliefs).
• Changing your own behavior according to previous settings.

However, it is not enough to want to overcome the contradiction. On the way to psychological harmony, a number of factors preventing this may arise:

• losses from changing behavior (breaking down when getting rid of addiction, financial losses when changing jobs with a tyrant boss, but good pay);
• an ambivalent attitude towards one’s own behavior or the need to change the situation (in a cafe they began to cook poorly, but they don’t want to part with friends, and they, in turn, don’t want to change their location);
• the impossibility of changing behavior (often a contradiction arises against the background of temperamental characteristics (properties of the psyche) that cannot be changed, or other psychophysiological characteristics);
• the impossibility of changing external circumstances, the environment (for example, you regretted selling the house, but the new owner does not want to make a reverse deal).

If it is impossible to change the conditions of the vital task, then it remains only to change one's attitude. "You can't change the situation - change your attitude towards it." Familiar phrase? This is the way to achieve inner harmony. Well, if you can change the situation, then change it!

Information for reflection and conclusions

So, cognitive dissonance is a specific version of the conflict that arises in a situation of choice and is resolved through a change in the worldview (beliefs) of the individual or, vice versa, actions. Finally, I would like to introduce you to a few interesting facts on this topic.

1. The theory of cognitive dissonance belongs to the American psychologist Leon Festinger. If you are interested in more in-depth and scientific explanation phenomenon of cognitive dissonance, then you can refer to the author's original source ("Theory of cognitive dissonance" / "A theory of cognitive dissonance").
2. It has been experimentally proven that alcohol prevents and eliminates the feeling of internal imbalance. It is from here that the saying follows that “you need to drink” in a difficult situation. However, dear reader, it should be understood that drinking will not solve the problem (along with sobriety, dissonance will return). But this fact explains many stories of people sinking to the social bottom. Under certain properties of the psyche and external circumstances, a person with an internal conflict can get bogged down in addictive (dependent) behavior that destroys the personality.
3. The phrase "What a sober man has in his head, then a drunkard has on his tongue" was also experimentally proved. Some people use alcohol as a way to be themselves and not experience internal discomfort, and then say: "I was drunk."
4. Cognitive dissonance is an ambiguous phenomenon. So, in sectarians or members of any small groups, it can be caused by habitual behavior in the generally accepted understanding. For example, according to the law of a criminal group, witnesses cannot be left, but one of its members violated this principle. Then it experiences internal contradiction.
5. The amount of cognitive dissonance can vary and is not always clearly understood. different people. For example, a break from a diet (just one candy) can cause a real imbalance in a girl, but the phrase “this is just candy, don’t suffer from foolishness” from the outside.
6. Through numerous cognitive dissonances, a personality change occurs (regression or progress). The more often a person changes his beliefs in accordance with his actions, the easier it is to repeat these actions again and again. This fact is equally true both in relation to the "fall" of the personality, and in terms of re-education. For example, it is easier to lie with every situation, but it is also easier for an inveterate liar to tell the truth if he realizes that it brings more positive results for him personally.
7. Sometimes three components are involved in cognitive dissonance: beliefs, knowledge, and actual behavior. Example: I know that smoking is bad, but I continue even though I want to quit.
8. Often, after the emergence of cognitive dissonance, it is no longer about the rationality of behavior, but about manipulations for its logical explanation.
9. As a rule, a person comes up with arguments not only in favor of the chosen option, but also against those rejected.

Thus, cognitive dissonance is an internal contradiction of motives, needs, actions and beliefs. Mostly occurs in a situation of choice. It is eliminated by weighing all the pros and cons for each option and convincing oneself that one is right (if the choice has already been made) or changing the conditions that cause mismatch in the cognitive sphere of the individual.

And finally, one more thing. Remember, at the beginning of the article, I promised to say whether cognitive dissonance is dangerous? To a certain extent, yes. And what is dangerous? Internal anxiety, tension, irritability, depression, apathy, aggression and other negative psychological conditions. They, in turn, can cause a deterioration in relationships with the family, at work, in love; the formation of bad habits; personality degradation and so on (to accumulate additional problems like a snowball, including psychosomatic ones). Therefore, it is necessary to fight this state. But as? Correctly! Change yourself or the environment. Well, this question requires a detailed study of a particular case.

Psychological health to you and the absence of cognitive dissonance! Thank you for your attention.

Cognitive dissonance is an exit from the emotional comfort zone, which is provoked by a state of internal contradiction, denial or confusion. It can cause deep depression or severe stress. In itself, the state of dissonance is not dangerous, but the inability to recognize it and cope with it will lead to the accumulation of psycho-emotional stress, which will require treatment.

Psychological discomfort, with the right understanding and attitude, is a kind of brain activity simulator. It teaches the brain loyalty, concentration and trains the ability to quickly assimilate and comprehend new information.

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The essence of cognitive dissonance

The theory of cognitive dissonance of personality is based on the belief that every person strives to find and maintain inner harmony. It is also called correspondence theory.

The name of the theory and its postulates were formulated in 1956. The author is a student of Kurt Lewin, the founder of many theories in psychology, the American psychologist Leon Festinger.

The main provisions of the theory in simple words can be formulated as follows:

1. 1. A harmonious state of the inner world is achieved through the correspondence of knowledge, beliefs and moral and ethical values ​​(cognitive elements) with the sequence of actions and occurring phenomena.
2. 2. With a discrepancy between cognitions (knowledge, experience, attitudes, thoughts, etc.), a person seeks to find an excuse for this. This helps to restore the harmony of his inner world.
3. 3. An individual whose behavior contradicts the understanding and knowledge of a person, but does not cause cognitive dissonance in his mind, should be regarded as an exception. Therefore, its vital activity is subject to study and analysis.

personality conflict

Cognitive dissonance can arise in relation to oneself due to the clash of one's own cognitions. And it may appear due to differences in views and life position with those around you. This is a natural process that accompanies a person throughout life from the moment the mental activity begins to the moment it stops.

To understand the cognitive dissonance caused by the discrepancy between one's own elements of cognition and one's own actions, one should consider examples from life.



Example #1

A colleague is unpleasant to a person, their views and opinions on the work process are diametrically opposed. Knowing the rules of good manners dictates that a person should smile at an unpleasant subject and be polite to him. But, since a colleague causes irritation, I want to send negativity to him.

The described situation is a demonstration of the conflict between knowledge and feelings of a person. The choice itself and its justifications look like this:

1. 1. Adhere to the rules of polite communication. With such a choice, a person justifies himself by upbringing and the norms accepted in a civilized society.
2. 2. Get into open conflict. Here justification will be positioned as the ability to defend one's interests.



Example #2

A person receives a job offer that does not correspond to his worldview, but they offer a large material reward for it. He has a choice:

1. 1. Get the job done and get rewarded. The material factor outweighed, but in order not to feel selfish, a person begins to think that gratitude for the service rendered in the form of material reward was necessary for him. He tries to convince himself that the manifestation of self-interest is only a temporary phenomenon, provoked by insurmountable circumstances.
2. 2. Give up without improving yours financial situation. With this option, a person will be tormented by the thought of lost profits. To extinguish the internal dissonance, he will try to convince himself of the insignificance of the reward and his own decency.

Example #3

A person adhering to proper nutrition bought himself something delicious for dinner, but unhealthy. After eating an unsuitable product in his opinion, he feels internal discontent. To eliminate mental discomfort, a person can:

1. 1. Find reasons to justify the need to use the product.
2. 2. Admit that you made a mistake, and promise yourself to correct the consequences of it as much as possible. For example, in the next period of time, eat less than usual, increase physical activity, or perform any other action that will restore inner harmony.

Scale value dissonance

There are cases in history of the mass emergence of a cognitive state.

Baptism of Russia

Christianity came to replace paganism. They took away their habitual way of life from people and imposed a different faith. Cognitive dissonance arose en masse in the souls of people.

Prince Vladimir Krasno Solnyshko in 988 decided to change his faith on his own. Those people who were ordered to change their faith chose different paths to bring their inner world into line with the new reality:

1. 1. Accepted the faith. To change religious views, they were looking for evidence of the existence of God in new faith. Draw parallels between paganism and Christianity. They convinced themselves that the prince knew which religion was true.
2. 2. They pretended to accept Christianity. Justifying himself with fear of punishment from the prince. Thus, people reached a spiritual compromise. They publicly preached Christianity, but secretly performed pagan rites.
3. 3. They rejected the imposed faith without reaching a compromise with themselves. Such people went to their deaths with the conviction that pagan worship is the only possible variant their faith.

Scientific discovery

Another massive cognitive dissonance was provoked by the theory that the globe rotates around its axis. A similar theory was put forward by D. Bruno and G. Galilei. Most of their contemporaries took this suggestion aggressively. It was a cognitive conflict between one's own opinion and that of the majority.

G. Galileo renounced his theory, motivating it with the desire to live and continue to be involved in the world of science. D. Bruno could not harmonize his knowledge and the beliefs of those around him. He did not renounce his assertion and look for an excuse for this, but chose death penalty.

Cognitive dissonance in children

In childhood, when a child learns the world, he inevitably encounters an imbalance between his own feelings and the reaction of others.

Situation #1

A child who sees someone being praised for a cut or sewn thing develops in his mind a sequence of actions necessary to achieve praise. He reproduces these actions from improvised objects. Showing the result to others, the child is sure of their approval. Most often the reaction looks like this:

1. 1. Adults complain and punish. A child who does not have sufficient knowledge and experience is not able to understand why his actions provoked a negative reaction. To avoid this, the child needs to explain in accessible words why he did not get the expected result.
2. 2. Give the expected response. Thanks to this, harmony is not disturbed in the child's mind, but incorrect stereotypes of behavior are formed.

Situation #2

A child who is instilled with a negative attitude towards lies convicts parents of a deliberate distortion of reality. For him, this is a psychological trauma, since the knowledge he received from his relatives does not correspond to their actions. To get rid of internal inconsistencies, the child makes a decision:

1. 1. Convinces himself that he imagined. So he eliminates dissonance without changing his beliefs.
2. 2. Rethinks attitude to lies. Parents are the standard of behavior. Seeing how adults behave, the child changes the need for the truth to the belief that it is allowed to resort to deception for personal gain.

If the child's psyche is not stable, then he may not be able to cope with the discrepancy that has arisen on his own. In this case, without qualified assistance, the child will plunge into a state of stress, receive psychological trauma, which in the future will be expressed in complexes.

Conclusion

cognitive dissonance is the result of perceiving or not accepting a rapidly changing reality.

If the state of internal inconsistency is not removed, it is not possible to find a compromise between one's own cognitions and what is happening, then psycho-emotional stress appears. As a result of this, complete frustration develops - a state in which a person experiences only negative emotions which gives rise to an inferiority complex.