What Is Cognitive Dissonance And What Are Some Coping Strategies?

Cognitive dissonance is a term coined by Dr. Leon Festinger in 1954, and he originally defined it as “the feeling of psychological discomfort produced by the combined presence of two thoughts that do not follow from one another.”

And this is how psychiatrist Frantz Fanon describes it: “Sometimes people hold a core belief that is very strong. When they are presented with evidence that works against that belief, the new evidence cannot be accepted. It would create a feeling that is extremely uncomfortable, called cognitive dissonance. And because it is so important to protect the core belief, they will rationalize, ignore and even deny anything that doesn’t fit in with the core belief.”

We humans like to think of ourselves are reasonable, logical, rational creatures, but the truth is, many, or even most, of us are driven as much by emotions and beliefs as we are by analytical thinking.

So while some people may be more prone to cognitive dissonance than others, it affects all of us to some degree.

Examples Of Cognitive Dissonance

One of the most common examples is people who indulge in a habit or practice (e.g. smoking) that they know is harmful to their health (because the evidence has been available for decades now and it’s not easy to ignore all of the warnings), but they continue in that habit anyway.

The rationalizations they may come up with to justify their behaviour might include:

• “I’ve tried to give up smoking before, but it’s just too difficult.”
• “It’s not as harmful as they say it is.”
• “I don’t care because I really enjoy smoking.”
• “I can give up any time I want.”

Or consider the situation of somebody who is on a strict weight loss diet, but somebody at work offers them a cake, maybe because it’s their birthday or they’ve just been promoted.

They know they shouldn’t eat the cake, because it isn’t diet-friendly, but they eat it anyway.

The “reasoning” might be that “just one cake won’t hurt” or “I’ll eat a smaller dinner later”, but the fact they have to rationalize what they know is the wrong decision indicates they are suffering from cognitive dissonance.

Another old example is “The Fox And The Grapes”, one of Aesop’s Fables, where a fox rationalizes his inability to reach some grapes that he desires on the basis that they are were probably sour anyway.

Environmental issues also cause many people cognitive dissonance – they know that what they are doing is not good for the environment, but they continue what they are doing via a rationalization process.

And for a final example, let’s consider religion.

A child brought up in a family that is strongly religious grows up with a certain set of beliefs (e.g. that people who belong to other religions, or atheists who have no religion at all) are bad and wrong and maybe even evil.

However, when these children grow up and go to college, there is a possibility they may befriend somebody who is not of their faith, and discover that these people are not “the devil in disguise”, as they were led to believe, and are perfectly nice, sociable, reasonable people after all.

This creates cognitive dissonance because what they are experiencing is completely counter to the beliefs they’ve grown up with.

Given this situation, some people cannot accept that their beliefs are wrong, even though they have evidence to the contrary, and cling to their existing beliefs regardless.

And others use this as a wake-up call that makes them re-evaluate what they thought was true, and they reprogram their brains using the new information to create an updated or new set of beliefs.

Is Cognitive Dissonance A Bad Thing?

There are, not surprisingly, differing schools of thought on this.

On the one hand, there are those who say that if humans’ brains have evolved to develop this sense of cognitive dissonance, then it must be because it confers some sort of survival advantage.

And on the other hand, some say it’s an unhelpful aspect of our brains, and as we’ve seen above, if this is what leads us to continuing in bad or harmful habits, then this makes sense.

Personally, I see cognitive dissonance primarily as a good thing, because it acts as a warning that we need to re-evaluate our beliefs in light of new information.

It’s what we do with that new information that is key – do we reject it because it conflicts with what we currently believe (without evaluating it at all), or do we take it on board and update our beliefs accordingly, thus making us a better informed person?

This is, after all, one of the main methods humans use to learn and adapt, and it’s summed up perfectly by this quotation from Charles Darwin: “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one that is most responsive to change.”

Ways To Combat Cognitive Dissonance

Reducing cognitive dissonance via rationalization is the default course of action for most people, but as we’ve seen above, it doesn’t always lead to the most appropriate choice.

Yes, it may make us feel psychologically better, at least in the short term, but in the bigger picture, it may, for example, make our health or overall life situation worse.

So, when faced with cognitive dissonance, here are a few different strategies you can adopt that will help you fight it and come to the most appropriate decision, taking into account your existing beliefs and the information that is available to you:

1. Acknowledge Your Feelings. Yes, you might do something that you know you shouldn’t, and you probably feel bad or guilty about it, but you shouldn’t. You should admit to yourself that you feel bad, and promise yourself you will not continue to beat yourself up about it because it’s better to focus your energy on resolving the cause of the cognitive dissonance.
2. Ask For Help. This may be as simple as requesting that your family not offer you things you decided not to consume, it might be asking a friend to remind you why you made a certain choice, or it might be finding somebody to act as an accountability partner. For example, if you feel tempted to do or eat something you shouldn’t, tell your accountability partner about it so they can remind you to stick to your plan.
3. Assess The Cost. Nothing in life is free, and that applies to our beliefs too. For example, holding on to the belief that certain people (e.g. those of different religions or skin colour or gender or from certain countries) are bad or evil may cost your business a lot of money (e.g. in lost sales), or maybe a loss of friends. When you try to evaluate what your beliefs may be costing you (and not just in financial terms), you may discover your beliefs no longer make any sense. Why hold on to a belief that does you more harm than good?
4. Internal Debate. Some may call this self-dialecticism, but let’s stick with the simpler term.

   Humans have (at least) two brains – the reptilian brain and the mammalian brain. The former is our “old” brain, and it controls many of our basic survival processes (e.g. hunger), as well as habits. The latter is our “newer” thinking brain that can process information and draw conclusions, helping us make decisions.

   You could almost argue that cognitive dissonance is like a debate between these two brains – the reptilian brain has its view, based on habits (and long-held beliefs are, effectively, “thinking” habits), while the mammalian brain has its brain, based on the available evidence.

   The trick then is to act as the moderator, letting each brain have its say so that a reasoned conclusion can be drawn.

5. Question Your Assumptions / Beliefs. Many of our beliefs are programmed into us as children, and we tend not to question them – not until we reach our teenage years or later, and sometimes not ever. But remember that some of those beliefs may have been passed down for generations, without ever having been questioned.

   Humans have discovered so much during the past century especially, and made remarkable technological advances, such that the beliefs we hold dear may be outdated and irrelevant.

   So ask yourself, where is the factual evidence that supports your beliefs? If there is none, then it’s time to update your beliefs.

6. Stretch Your Comfort Zone. Humans love their comfort zones, because it makes us feel safe, but growth only comes when you push back their boundaries.

   When faced with cognitive dissonance, the easy option is to remain within our comfort zone, but therein lies stagnation – we need to become comfortable with being uncomfortable, so that we can extend the size of our zone and learn and grow.

7. Understand Your Core Principles. When you understand the principles and values you wish to live your life by (e.g. honesty, integrity), it makes it easier to make tough decisions that might create cognitive dissonance. When faced with a tough choice, which may call into question your underlying beliefs, if you focus on the right thing to do (as defined by your core principles), then the choice becomes less tough.

Conclusion

One of the knacks to dealing with cognitive dissonance is recognizing when it’s happening.

Once you see that, you are in a position to resolve it – if that’s the appropriate course of action.

If you want to see cognitive dissonance in action, why not watch the classic movie “12 Angry Men”, which provides a variety of fascinating psychological insights.

I’ll leave you with this quote, attributed to Albert Einstein, which supports the idea that falling back on your core beliefs without questioning them is to ignore what makes us human: “He who joyfully marches in rank and file has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord would suffice.”

Additional Resources

These are suggestions for those who wish to delve deeper into any of the above:

1. 12 Angry Men
2. Identifying Limiting Beliefs