I feel a bit of dissonance over writing this post. My newly edited book on dissonance, Cognitive Dissonance: Re-examining a Pivotal Theory in Psychology, is an update of the book Jud Mills and I ...

A recent New Yorker article, “Is Cognitive Dissonance Actually a Thing?”, strongly implies that the answer to that question is “No.” The article arrived at this answer by considering a 1956 ...

Jocelyn Solis-Moreira is a New York-based science journalist whose work has appeared in Health, Live Science, and Discover Magazine, among other publications. She holds a master's degree in psychology ...

Have you ever been out and about, perhaps tackling the Christmas shopping list, and felt a bit thirsty? You buy a drink—say, one that comes in a plastic bottle—and quench your thirst, only to find ...

You've been presented with two viable options for a new career. The first option is what you've always wanted—the role sounds like a perfect fit. But the second option comes with higher pay and better ...

Cognitive dissonance arises when individuals hold conflicting beliefs or when behaviour runs counter to personal values, generating psychological discomfort that motivates efforts to restore ...

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Do you keep second-guessing your decisions after you’ve made them? Immobilizing yourself? Berating yourself when you finally decide on something? This can be a normal albeit painful way to make ...

In light of the Talbot Boys dispute, I thought a look at the Zimbardo Stanford University prison experiment would be enlightening. Male participants were recruited and told they would participate in a ...

One of the great mysteries in both religion and politics is why people continue to hold on to fervently cherished beliefs in spite of evidence contrary to those beliefs. I will give some examples in ...

You could hang on to the empty bottle, or throw it in with general rubbish. If you are particularly passionate about recycling, the latter option may feel quite distressing. However, you might peek ...