Cognitive Dissonance Examples: 5 Ways It Pops Up In Everyday Life

cognitive dissonance addiction

This study has discriminant validity, and the lower triangle is the correlation coefficient. Neuroscience research has correlated learning with the elaboration of neural networks in the brain. Many experiments have established that, as learning takes place, selected neurons increase their levels of activity and form new connections, or strengthen established connections, with networks of other neurons. Moreover, experimental techniques that prevent neuronal activity and networking inhibit learning. In one study, researchers asked participants to give speeches that would encourage the audience to take a certain positive action.

  • Future studies can include subjects from a wider range of geographical and cultural backgrounds to further validate the findings.
  • Among them are how highly a particular belief is valued and the degree to which the beliefs are inconsistent.
  • Festinger’s (1957) cognitive dissonance theory suggests that we have an inner drive to hold all our attitudes and behavior in harmony and avoid disharmony (or dissonance).
  • Or you may get caught up in trying to rationalize the dissonance to the point of stressing yourself out.

Dangers of Cognitive Dissonance for Substance Abusers

Smartphones act as daily emotion regulation tools [34], that help people to get their needs met [35], thus helping Type D personalities to cope with stress and relieve their emotions. This over-reliance on smartphones for self-regulation may eventually lead to the development of smartphone addiction. According to the Cognitive Dissonance Theory, people make themselves have consistent cognitive attitudes and behaviors and experience discomfort when their behaviors are inconsistent with their cognitions [36, 37]. Individuals with Type D personality are often in a negative emotional state and have a more negative view of themselves, their environment, and others [38]. Type D personality types will seek out negative content to reaffirm their worldview. Smartphones serve as platforms that can reinforce these negative perceptions by providing information and social interactions that align with their existing beliefs, thereby alleviating cognitive dissonance.

  • As we mentioned earlier, many people know that smoking is harmful to their health — yet they continue to do it.
  • Cognitive dissonance has a positive influence on the discontinuous usage intention of pan-entertainment mobile live broadcast platform users.
  • In addition to offering drug and alcohol counseling, Tim Sinnott is a counselor who is highly skilled and experienced in marriage and family counseling, treating anxiety and depression, and offering coping strategies for life transitions.
  • Festinger argued that cognitive dissonance is more intense when a person holds many dissonant views and those views are important to them.
  • Then, of course, you tell yourself that if you quit smoking, you might gain weight, which is also bad for your health.

How To Resolve Cognitive Dissonance

This situation created cognitive dissonance in most individuals––they believed that the task was boring, yet for no good reason they had to say quite the opposite. Half of the participants were given a ready excuse for telling this lie––they would be paid $20 to tell the lie. Those with a clear justification ($20) for lying experienced no dissonance and, as one would expect, later reported that the task was really rather boring.

The effects of cognitive dissonance

cognitive dissonance addiction

Using a two-wave study design, this study was the first to examine the relationship of Type D personality with nomophobia, metacognition of smartphone use, and smartphone addiction. The results not only confirmed the negative effects of Type D personality but also revealed the mechanism of action of Type D personality and further validated the I-PACE model from an empirical perspective. Leon Festinger first proposed the theory of cognitive dissonance, centered on how people try to reach internal consistency. He suggested that people have an inner need to ensure that their beliefs and behaviors are consistent.

The current study

Mason is detail oriented, organized, efficient oral and written communicator, and passionate about creating a positive workplace for our staff and an excellent recovery environment for our https://ecosoberhouse.com/ clients. There is also some ambiguity (i.e., vagueness) about the term “dissonance” itself. Is it a perception (as “cognitive” suggests), a feeling, or a feeling about a perception?

cognitive dissonance addiction

Bhattacharya et al. (2019) [46] stated that young people are more likely to have more addictive behaviors due to nomophobia. According to the fear avoidance model, people avoid contact with stimuli that they feel fearful cognitive dissonance addiction and anxious about [47]. In a mobile phone-free scenario, many people experience unbearable anxiety and restlessness [48]. This anxiety may lead them to avoid this anxiety by constantly using their mobile phones.

cognitive dissonance addiction

This is congruent with the findings of existing studies on the relationship between Type D personality and addiction [21, 82]. Our results further demonstrated that individuals with Type D personality spent significantly more time per day on their smartphones and had significantly higher levels of smartphone addiction than those with non-Type D personality. Although smartphone addiction cannot be understood merely as spending copious amounts of time using smartphones [83], the amount of time spent using a smartphone tends to be closely related to smartphone addiction [84]. Nevertheless, some studies indicate that the correlation between screen time and smartphone addiction may not be as robust as initially presumed [85, 86]. Consequently, it is imperative to exercise caution when inferring a direct relationship between the two variables.

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