Editing Cognitive dissonance (section)

== Originator ==
[[Leon Festinger]], born in 1919 in New York City,<ref name=":13">{{Citation |last1=Hatfield |first1=Elaine |title=Leon Festinger |date=2014-11-25 |work=Psychology |url=https://oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780199828340/obo-9780199828340-0157.xml |access-date=2024-03-29 |publisher=Oxford University Press |language=en |doi=10.1093/obo/9780199828340-0157 |isbn=978-0-19-982834-0 |last2=Carpenter |first2=Megan |last3=Thornton |first3=Paul |last4=Rapson |first4=Richard|doi-access=free }}</ref> was an American [[Social psychology|social psychologist]] whose contributions to psychology include the cognitive dissonance theory, [[social comparison theory]], and the [[Leon Festinger#Proximity effect|proximity effect]].<ref name=":05"/><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Festinger |first=Leon |date=May 1954 |title=A Theory of Social Comparison Processes |url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/001872675400700202 |journal=Human Relations |language=en |volume=7 |issue=2 |pages=117–140 |doi=10.1177/001872675400700202 |issn=0018-7267|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

Festinger graduated from the [[City College of New York]] in 1939; he then received his PhD in Child Psychology from the [[University of Iowa]].<ref name=":13" /> He was initially inspired to enter the field of psychology by [[Kurt Lewin]], known as the "father of modern social psychology", and his work in [[Gestalt psychology]]. Studying under Kurt Lewin for most of his academic career, Festinger returned to collaborate with Lewin at the Research Center for Group Dynamics at the [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]].<ref name=":05" /> In a 2002 American Psychological Association article, Festinger is cited as the fifth most eminent psychologist of the 20th century, just after [[B. F. Skinner|B.F. Skinner]], [[Jean Piaget]], [[Sigmund Freud]], and [[Albert Bandura]], respectively.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Haggbloom |first1=Steven J. |last2=Warnick |first2=Renee |last3=Warnick |first3=Jason E. |last4=Jones |first4=Vinessa K. |last5=Yarbrough |first5=Gary L. |last6=Russell |first6=Tenea M. |last7=Borecky |first7=Chris M. |last8=McGahhey |first8=Reagan |last9=Powell |first9=John L. |last10=Beavers |first10=Jamie |last11=Monte |first11=Emmanuelle |date=June 2002 |title=The 100 Most Eminent Psychologists of the 20th Century |url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1037/1089-2680.6.2.139 |journal=Review of General Psychology |language=en |volume=6 |issue=2 |pages=139–152 |doi=10.1037/1089-2680.6.2.139 |issn=1089-2680}}</ref> Festinger's cognitive dissonance theory is still one of the most influential social theories in modern social psychology.<ref>{{Citation |last1=Harmon-Jones |first1=Eddie |title=An introduction to cognitive dissonance theory and an overview of current perspectives on the theory. |date=2019 |work=Cognitive dissonance: Reexamining a pivotal theory in psychology (2nd ed.). |pages=3–24 |url=https://doi.org/10.1037/0000135-001 |access-date=2024-03-03 |place=Washington |publisher=American Psychological Association |language=en |doi=10.1037/0000135-001 |isbn=978-1-4338-3010-5 |last2=Mills |first2=Judson|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

Throughout this research, Festinger noticed that people often like to stick to consistent habits and routines to maintain order within their lives. These habits may include everyday activities like preferring a specific seat during their daily commute or eating meals at consistent times.<ref name=":05" /> Any disturbance to this order can lead to mental unease, which may manifest in altered thought processes or beliefs.<ref name=":72"/> Festinger concluded that the sole means of alleviating this discomfort is by adjusting either their actions or beliefs to restore consistency.<ref name=":05" /><ref>{{Cite book |title=Social psychology: how other people influence our thoughts and actions |date=2017 |publisher=Greenwood |isbn=978-1-61069-592-3 |editor-last=Summers |editor-first=Randal W. |location=Santa Barbara, California Denver, Colorado}}</ref>

Since his publication of ''A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance'' in 1957, Festinger's findings have helped to understand peoples' personal biases,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Stager |first=Pamela Elizabeth |date=September 2006 |title=The use of the false consensus bias as a means of cognitive dissonance reduction |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/304970757 |journal=Queen's University|id={{ProQuest|304970757}} }}</ref> how people reframe situations in their heads to maintain a positive self-image, and why one may pursue certain behaviors that misalign with their judgments as they seek out or reject certain information.<ref>{{Citation |last=Mills |first=Judson |title=Improving the 1957 version of dissonance theory. |date=2019 |work=Cognitive dissonance: Reexamining a pivotal theory in psychology (2nd ed.). |pages=27–39 |url=https://doi.org/10.1037/0000135-002 |access-date=2024-03-03 |place=Washington |publisher=American Psychological Association |language=en |doi=10.1037/0000135-002 |isbn=978-1-4338-3010-5|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Festinger |first1=Leon |last2=Gerard |first2=Harold B. |last3=Hymovitch |first3=Bernard |last4=Kelley |first4=Harold H. |last5=Raven |first5=Bert |date=November 1952 |title=The Influence Process in the Presence of Extreme Deviates |url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/001872675200500402 |journal=Human Relations |language=en |volume=5 |issue=4 |pages=327–346 |doi=10.1177/001872675200500402 |issn=0018-7267|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

Coping with the nuances of contradictory ideas or experiences is mentally stressful, as it requires energy and effort to sit with those seemingly opposite things that all seem true. Festinger argued that some people would inevitably resolve the dissonance by blindly believing whatever they wanted to believe.