Cognitive Dissonance State

A Cognitive Dissonance State is a psychological tension state that is a cognitive distortion state arising from holding contradictory beliefs, conflicting values, or inconsistent attitude-behavior pairs simultaneously.

• AKA: Mental Discomfort State, Psychological Inconsistency State, Belief Conflict State, Cognitive Contradiction State.
• Context:
  • It can typically trigger Dissonance Reduction Strategy to restore psychological equilibrium.
  • It can typically motivate Belief Revision Process aligning cognitions with behavior.
  • It can typically produce Rationalization Behavior justifying contradictory action.
  • It can typically generate Selective Exposure to confirming information.
  • It can typically induce Attitude Change matching behavioral commitment.
  • ...
  • It can often intensify with Decision Importance and choice irreversibility.
  • It can often manifest as Physical Discomfort including stress symptoms.
  • It can often resist Direct Confrontation through defensive mechanisms.
  • It can often strengthen Prior Beliefs via backfire effect.
  • ...
  • It can range from being a Mild Cognitive Dissonance State to being a Severe Cognitive Dissonance State, depending on its psychological distress level.
  • It can range from being a Conscious Cognitive Dissonance State to being an Unconscious Cognitive Dissonance State, depending on its awareness accessibility.
  • It can range from being a Simple Cognitive Dissonance State to being a Complex Cognitive Dissonance State, depending on its conflicting element number.
  • It can range from being an Acute Cognitive Dissonance State to being a Chronic Cognitive Dissonance State, depending on its temporal persistence duration.
  • ...
  • It can influence Decision Making Processes through confirmation bias.
  • It can affect Memory Reconstruction via selective recall.
  • It can shape Social Perception through motivated reasoning.
  • It can impact Self-Concept Maintenance via self-justification.
  • It can drive Behavioral Change when attitude modification fails.
  • ...
• Example(s):
  • Post-Decision Cognitive Dissonance States, such as:
    • Buyer's Remorse Cognitive Dissonance State after major purchase.
    • Choice Justification Cognitive Dissonance State following difficult decision.
    • Sunk Cost Cognitive Dissonance State in failed investment.
  • Value-Behavior Cognitive Dissonance States, such as:
    • Environmental Cognitive Dissonance State between green values and carbon footprint.
    • Health Cognitive Dissonance State between wellness beliefs and unhealthy behavior.
    • Ethical Cognitive Dissonance State between moral principles and unethical action.
  • Social Cognitive Dissonance States, such as:
    • Political Cognitive Dissonance State supporting contradictory policy.
    • Religious Cognitive Dissonance State between doctrine and personal belief.
    • Relationship Cognitive Dissonance State in dysfunctional partnership.
  • ...
• Counter-Example(s):
  • Cognitive Consistency State, which maintains harmonious belief system without internal conflict.
  • Ambivalence State, which acknowledges mixed feelings without dissonance pressure.
  • Uncertainty State, which involves knowledge gaps without contradictory belief.
  • Preference Diversity, which holds multiple values without psychological tension.
• See: Cognitive Distortion State, Psychological Manipulation Mechanism, Leon Festinger, Social Psychology, Belief Revision, Rationalization, Confirmation Bias, Motivated Reasoning, Self-Justification, Attitude Change, Decision Making, Self-Perception Theory.

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