- most influential theory in social psychology
- by Leon Festinger
- defined as situation of emotional or psychological discomfort due to discrepancy between thoughts and behaviour
Mechanism to resolve cognitive dissonance
- change the thought
- change behaviour
- add more thoughts to justify behaviour
- trivialize inconsistency
Q - Thousands of aspirants come to Delhi for UPSC preparation from every nook and corner of the country. Influenced by the metropolitan culture, some do get addicted to smoking. They have this thought in mind that smoking is injurious to health but still, the behavior of smoking continues. In such a situation, how to resolve the dilemma?
Q. What is the difference between cognitive dissonance and crisis of conscience? Explain by giving an example. (150 Words/ 10 Marks).