3 - Cognitive Dissonance

Cognitive dissonance occurs when a person has two contradicting cognitions (e.g., “I smoke a lot and I like to continue doing this” and ”smoking is bad for my health”). This causes an uncomfortable feeling. People can choose to solve this and engage in cognitive dissonance reduction in two ways: (1) by changing their attitude (“conclude that research on smoking is inconclusive” or “my uncle was very old when he died and he smoked a lot”), or (2) by changing their behavior (quit smoking).

​Most people experience conflicting cognitions from time to time, often between short term rewards and long-term adverse consequences. These can for instance be about health and pleasure, eating unhealthy or smoking may give short-term rewards but these often have long-term adverse consequences. People who do not want to give up their habits (or sometimes their world-view) will be inclined to rationalize their actions, for instance by remembering a family member who lived to be 82 with an unhealthy habit such as smoking a lot. In this film, prof. Schippers explains what it is, how you can recognize it and will give tips on how you can try to optimize decisions in your life. 

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