cognitive dissonance

noun

, Psychology.

1. anxiety or discomfort that results from simultaneously holding contradictory or otherwise incompatible attitudes, beliefs, or the like, such as when someone likes a person but disapproves strongly of one of their habits.

cognitive dissonance

noun

1. psychol an uncomfortable mental state resulting from conflicting cognitions; usually resolved by changing some of the cognitions

Word History and Origins

Origin of cognitive dissonance¹

First recorded in 1960–65

Example Sentences

There’s an old literature in persuasion science and cognitive dissonance that says if people have made a choice that resulted in a negative consequence, the more negative the consequence, the less likely they are to believe it was a mistake.

From Freakonomics

Even for those of us who grew up playing video games, surveying the gaming industry today is a case study in cognitive dissonance.

From Digiday

For working parents, such cognitive dissonance is not unique to this year.

From Time

Today’s fathers are caught in a classic case of cognitive dissonance.

From Nautilus

There was, perhaps, a certain level of cognitive dissonance there, after many years of 5G hype.

From TechCrunch

A big part of the reason is a simple psychological phenomenon called cognitive dissonance.

From The Daily Beast

But when the school holds a ceremony honoring the soldiers who killed her Arab brethren, she suffers clear cognitive dissonance.

From The Daily Beast

The European rules create cognitive dissonance: Reality refuses to line up with their convictions.

From The Daily Beast

One astutely muses about cognitive dissonance among the many conservative Republicans within the 47%.

From The Daily Beast

The concept of "pinkwashing," for example, had to be developed to overcome progressive cognitive dissonance.

From The Daily Beast

But the most common reaction is the good old cognitive dissonance.

From Project Gutenberg

One of the classic defence mechanisms is the cognitive dissonance.

From Project Gutenberg