This creates a mental state known as cognitive dissonance, when “an individual’s cognitions — beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors—are at odds” (Egan et al., 2007, p. 978). Cognitive dissonance is an ...

Cognitive dissonance is a term for the state of discomfort felt when two or more modes of thought contradict each other. The clashing cognitions may include ideas, beliefs, or the knowledge that ...