# Understanding Cognitive Dissonance: Bridging Beliefs and Actions
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Chapter 1: The Concept of Cognitive Dissonance
A few years ago, while delving into "The Social Animal" by Elliot Aronson, I encountered a compelling concept known as cognitive dissonance. This term refers to the unease we feel when there is a disparity between our values and our actions. In an attempt to reconcile the conflicting realities of our beliefs and behaviors, our minds often concoct rationalizations to bridge this gap.
This phenomenon is prevalent in everyday life. For example, individuals may enjoy meat while loving animals, engage in smoking or drinking despite knowing the risks, or even justify wrongful actions.
To illustrate cognitive dissonance, consider these three scenarios:
#1: You aspire to be the model of good health. You commit to exercising regularly, maintaining a balanced diet, and practicing mindfulness. Yet, there are nights when you find yourself devouring a bag of chips or an entire tub of ice cream—sometimes both! Why would you indulge if you're striving for health? Faced with guilt, you might label yourself a failure and contemplate giving up, which often leads to a cycle of indulgence. Alternatively, you might downplay the incident, promising to compensate with exercise the next day, or justify it as a deserved treat due to life's stresses.
#2: You are interviewing with multiple companies, each opportunity appealing for different reasons. Ultimately, you receive an offer from only one company, and it's less than the salary you anticipated. The higher-paying positions selected other candidates, leaving you feeling uneasy. Despite having excelled academically and professionally, you start to question your worth or convince yourself that money isn’t everything.
#3: After a disagreement with a friend, all your mutual friends believe the fault lies with you. However, you consider yourself a good person and struggle with the notion that you could be wrong. As a perfectionist, you hold the belief that good people don’t make mistakes. This could lead you to either dismiss your friends’ perspectives entirely or, with effort, acknowledge that everyone is fallible. This realization can empower you to apologize and mend the relationship.
Cognitive dissonance is such a fundamental aspect of human experience that we often fail to recognize it consciously. However, you might experience a persistent feeling of unease, indicating a disconnect between your beliefs and actions. Recognizing these feelings can prompt introspection, allowing you to identify the conflicting narratives and evaluate whether your reconciliations align with your core values.
The first video, "Don't Believe Everything You Think - Cognitive Dissonance," delves into the intricacies of cognitive dissonance, exploring how our minds can mislead us and the importance of being aware of our thought processes.