cognitive dissonance love

cognitive dissonance

Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The psychological tension that occurs when one holds mutually exclusive beliefs or attitudes and that often motivates people to modify their thoughts or behaviors in order to reduce the tension.

Etymologies

Sorry, no etymologies found.

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word cognitive dissonance.

Examples

    Sorry, no example sentences found.

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.

  • I've actually used this in context multiple times before. Usually talking about my family...

    May 23, 2007

  • I use this phrase too! Usually all I get in return are confused expressions though. :-)

    May 23, 2007

  • Grating thoughts? Jeez, watch out for cognitive cacophony!

    May 23, 2007

  • I have always found this a useful concept, too, although I almost never say it out loud (perhaps that is because it is usually an internal event.) One of the phrases I retained from an long ago ed psych class, I believe.

    July 24, 2007

  • One of my friends thought I was making this up when I explained it to her. And she's a nurse! :-O

    July 24, 2007

  • From Google: Cognitive dissonance is a psychological phenomenon first identified by Leon Festinger. It occurs when there is a discrepancy between what a person believes, knows and values, and persuasive information that calls these into question. The discrepancy causes psychological discomfort, and the mind adjusts to reduce the discrepancy. In ethics, cognitive dissonance is important in its ability to alter values, such as when an admired celebrity embraces behavior that his or her admirers deplore.

    July 24, 2007

  • Thant's funny, u. The experience is so common.

    July 24, 2007

  • And in practice, the term is used to denote a certain kind of inner conflict: If I feel that a situation compels me to do a thing, and that thing is contrary to my self image, I will experience cognitive dissonance.

    July 24, 2007

  • For me, the cognitive dissonance occurred when I discovered libertarianism. Because I realized it made sense and was the most moral political philosophy, and yet it flies in the face of what I used to believe. I fought myself about it for weeks before coming to grips with it and allowing myself to just embrace it.

    Not that I'm trying to get all political on my fellow Wordies, I'm just sayin'... It's a good example. ;-)

    July 24, 2007

  • Your experience is a good example, u.

    July 24, 2007

  • I agree with slumry, u--it is a good example. I had the same kind of experience coming to terms with...well, to be discreet, with having been brought up in a certain religion (here unidentified) that does not especially accept certain people (also unnamed). You're lucky to have been able to resolve the struggle. :-)

    July 24, 2007

  • cognitive dissonance – a discrepancy between what a person does and what they think or believe; a psychological state of conflict that occurs when a person's behavior contradicts their thoughts or beliefs

    July 14, 2008

  • (n) individual awareness of inconsistencies in thoughts feelings and opinions.,

    (n) an uncomfortable feeling or stress caused by holding two contradictory ideas simultaneously.,

    May 8, 2009

  • A strikingly beautiful woman who smelled like a vat of pigshit and rotten meat. You appreciate the cognitive dissonance. From "The Last Werewolf" by Glen Duncan.

    March 8, 2012