What is cognitive dissonance?

Cognitive dissonance refers to the psychological discomfort experienced when an individual holds two or more contradictory beliefs, values, or engages in behavior that conflicts with their beliefs. This discomfort often leads individuals to seek ways to reduce the inconsistency between their beliefs and actions. For example, if someone values health but smokes cigarettes, they may feel dissonance due to the conflict between wanting to be healthy and engaging in an unhealthy behavior.

This discomfort often prompts changes in one’s beliefs or behaviors, or it can lead to rationalization of the conflicting behaviors in order to restore a sense of internal consistency. The essence of cognitive dissonance is the tension that arises from the contradiction itself, which can motivate individuals to resolve the dissonance in various ways, such as changing beliefs or justifying behaviors.

The other options do relate to aspects of cognition and behavior, but they do not encapsulate the core concept of cognitive dissonance as effectively as acknowledging the psychological discomfort from conflicting beliefs or behaviors.