Cognitive dissonance, the mental conflict that occurs when beliefs or assumptions are contradicted by new information. The unease or tension that the conflict arouses in people is relieved by one of several defensive maneuvers: they reject, explain away, or avoid the new information; persuade themselves that no conflict really exists; reconcile the differences; or resort to any other defensive means of preserving stability or order in their conceptions of the world and of themselves. The concept was developed in the 1950s by American psychologist Leon Festinger and became a major point of discussion and research (Duignan).
Works Cited
Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "cognitive dissonance." Encyclopedia Britannica, 23 Nov. 2017, https://www.britannica.com/science/cognitive-dissonance. Accessed 30 August 2022.
Watch the video below for further understanding.
"Cognitive Dissonance (Definition + 3 Examples." Practical Psychology, 2021. YouTube, https://youtu.be/G1-vaIe2FGM?si=-Ni3akK6LmLwIst4.