Cognitive dissonance: Definition, effects, and examples

The prediction that people can experience dissonance vicariously is based on a combination of dissonance theory with social identity theory (McKimmie, 2015; Tajfel, 1970; Tajfel & Turner, 1986; Hogg, 2001). The social group takes paramount importance in social identity theory because it is one of the major roots of people’s self-worth. They form common bonds with fellow group members, taking satisfaction in the success of their group and the successes of the individuals who comprise the group. They also share the negative emotions (Mackie & Smith 1998), which we predicted would include cognitive dissonance. This provides us with a Sober living house new perspective on why people change their attitudes following attitude-inconsistent behavior.

2. Research Model

It’s a psychological tug-of-war that plays out in the shadows of our consciousness, often leaving those caught in its grasp feeling confused, frustrated, and utterly powerless. Research into the changes in cognition that accompany addiction and the neural substrates of learning and addiction is still in its infancy but has potential to reshape views on addiction. For example, a recent discovery that has generated excitement in the addiction field is that smokers who suffered damage to the insula often lost their desire to smoke (Naqvi et al., 2007). The authors of this finding proposed that the insula is involved in the conscious urge to smoke and that therapies that modulate insula function may facilitate smoking cessation. It may also be that damage to the insula will have a similar effect on the desire to use other drugs of abuse (for a review see Goldstein et al., 2009). Clinical and laboratory research has implicated pre-natal exposure to methamphetamine in both cognitive deficits and altered brain structure.

Cognitive Factors and Addiction

In one experiment, we artificially decreased participants’ arousal level by administering a mild sedative. We found that participants showed little attitude change after writing an attitude-discrepant essay because the sedative reduced their arousal levels. We also had some participants ingest a mild stimulant and, as predicted from the drive concept, found that the increased arousal levels led to greater attitude change (Cooper, Zanna & Taves, 1978). While he did not label dissonance as a drive, he designed the concept so that it functioned like one. The three important features of his concept were that (1) it is experienced as discomfort, (2) it propels people to take action and (3) people feel more comfortable after the action has been taken.

Adolescents’ perceptions of substance use messaging in the age of social media: resolving cognitive dissonance

• The criticisms were useful not only because they brought attention to cognitive dissonance theory, but primarily because they led to numerous studies from a new group of dissonance researchers that ultimately supported many of Festinger’s unorthodox predictions.
• She has implemented a lot of new protocols for the operations of these areas to ensure the clients are receiving the highest quality of care that we are able to provide.
• For the past 9 years, she additionally has been overseeing the detox area, health services, and office of family support.
• Similarly, effort justification was also found to be useful to alleviate clients’ fear of assertiveness (Cooper, 1980).

Carrie’s focus is on leading the client to a future where they feel confident and have the ability to make the necessary changes in their life. The cognitive dissonance is effectively wiped clean by changing how they feel towards their addiction. This allows the convoluted “logic” of addiction to take hold and become the new norm. Someone spiraling into addiction knows that what they are doing isn’t good for them on some level. Still, they find substance abuse a more comfortable path because it blocks unwanted ideas, feelings, and responsibilities.

3. Motives:

All procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation Human Research Ethics Committee of The University of Hong Kong, HKSAR, China (EA ) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000(5). Informed consent was obtained from all research participants for being included in the present study for publication. However, if a person finds that they have difficulty stopping a behavior or thinking pattern that is causing them distress, they can seek support from a qualified healthcare professional, such as a primary care doctor or therapist. If that same person believes the COVID-19 pandemic is real but refuses to wear a mask, their values and behaviors would contradict each other. By using these types of explanations, the smoker is able to reduce the dissonance and continue the unhealthy behavior.

Health Conditions

Only when they are ready can they possibly have a chance to see the cognitive dissonance for what it is and the damage their addiction has caused. The subconscious mind resolves cognitive dissonance by changing the individual’s perception of reality to restore balance as a mental defense mechanism. And then also at school my health teacher talked to us about the consequences, so I’ve decided to stay put and not use.

• There were no significant differences between the two groups of children in intelligence, visual/manual dexterity, or sustained attention; however, both groups placed below the normative means on these measures (Pulsifer et al., 2008).
• This study has several limitations that should be considered when interpreting the results.
• Cognitive dissonance motivates individuals to align their attitudes or behaviors with their existing beliefs.
• Just as people can be slightly hungry or extremely hungry, Festinger’s theory provided for different magnitudes of dissonance.

A Glass Half Full Not Empty: Strength-Based Practice in Persons with Substance Use Disorders

The motivation for change is to render the consequences of a person’s behavior non-aversive. In that case, the consequence of convincing the fellow student is no longer aversive. If a student writes an essay that might convince a fellow student or a Dean to raise tuition rates, that consequence would no longer be aversive if the student comes to believe that a tuition increase would be a good idea. In summary, the motivational state of cognitive dissonance leads to cognitive changes, such as attitude change, that are specifically designed to render the consequence of a freely chosen behavior wanted and desirable rather than unwanted and aversive. Drive reduction is the process that makes dissonance theory convert cognitive representations into attitude change and other regulation activities.

• Participants discussed congruencies and incongruencies between formal prevention messages (i.e. drug education and PSAs) and peer posts.
• In contrast, users with low self-efficacy are more susceptible to negative emotions and cognitive dissonance when using the platform, which can lead to discontinuous usage intention.
• In summary, the motivational state of cognitive dissonance leads to cognitive changes, such as attitude change, that are specifically designed to render the consequence of a freely chosen behavior wanted and desirable rather than unwanted and aversive.
• The results of the study offer empirical evidence for the role of cognitive dissonance in discontinuous usage intentions and provide insights into the relationship between information overload, service overload, user addiction, and cognitive dissonance.

Cognitive Dissonance and the Discomfort of Holding Conflicting Beliefs

These perceptions will influence users’ attitudes toward the platform and ultimately their intention to stop using it. The affective part of the framework refers to how cognitive dissonance addiction individuals feel about the pan-entertainment mobile live broadcast platform. Emotions are influenced by perceptions, which will also affect users’ attitudes and intentions.