What Is Cognitive Dissonance? - Deepstash

What Is Cognitive Dissonance?

When someone tells a lie and feels uncomfortable about it because he fundamentally sees himself as an honest person, he may be experiencing cognitive dissonance. That is, there is mental discord related to a contradiction between one thought (in this case, knowing he did something wrong) and another (thinking that he is honest).

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“An idea is something that won’t work unless you do.” - Thomas A. Edison

The minute we make any decision, we begin to justify the wisdom of our choice and find reasons to dismiss the alternative. Before long, any ambivalence we might have felt at the time of the original decision will have morphed into certainty. Cognitive dissonance explains why, when the facts clash with our preexisting convictions, some of us would sooner jeopardize our lives and everyone else’s than admit to being wrong.

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