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