Editing Cognitive dissonance (section)

== Reduction==
Cognitive dissonance theory proposes that people seek psychological consistency between their expectations of life and the existential [[reality]] of the world. To function by that expectation of existential consistency, people continually reduce their cognitive dissonance in order to align their cognitions (perceptions of the world) with each other and their actions.

The creation and establishment of psychological consistency allows the person affected with cognitive dissonance to lessen mental stress by actions that reduce the magnitude of the dissonance, realized either by changing with or by justifying against or by being indifferent to the existential contradiction that is inducing the mental stress.<ref name="Festinger, L. 1957"/> In practice, people reduce the magnitude of their cognitive dissonance in four ways:
# Change the behavior or the cognition ("I'll eat no more of this doughnut.")
# Justify the behavior or the cognition, by changing the conflicting cognition ("I'm allowed to cheat my diet every once in a while.")
# Justify the behavior or the cognition by adding new behaviors or cognitions ("I'll spend thirty extra minutes at the gymnasium to work off the doughnut.")
# Ignore or deny information that conflicts with existing beliefs ("This doughnut is not a high-sugar food.")

Three cognitive bias theories are proposed proponents of cognitive dissonance (''Note: they are not distinct, they draw from each other''): 1. [[Bias blind spot|Bias Blind Spot]] — the tendency to perceive oneself as less susceptible to biases than others,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Scopelliti |first1=Irene |last2=Morewedge |first2=Carey K. |last3=McCormick |first3=Erin |last4=Min |first4=H. Lauren |last5=Lebrecht |first5=Sophie |last6=Kassam |first6=Karim S. |date=2015 |title=Bias Blind Spot: Structure, Measurement, and Consequences |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/24551537 |journal=Management Science |volume=61 |issue=10 |pages=2468–2486 |doi=10.1287/mnsc.2014.2096 |jstor=24551537 |issn=0025-1909}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Chandrashekar |first1=Subramanya Prasad |last2=Yeung |first2=Siu Kit |last3=Yau |first3=Ka Chai |last4=Cheung |first4=Chung Yee |last5=Agarwal |first5=Tanay Kulbhushan |last6=Wong |first6=Cho Yan Joan |last7=Pillai |first7=Tanishka |last8=Thirlwell |first8=Thea Natasha |last9=Leung |first9=Wing Nam |last10=Tse |first10=Colman |last11=Li |first11=Yan Tung |last12=Cheng |first12=Bo Ley |last13=Chan |first13=Hill Yan Cedar |last14=Feldman |first14=Gilad |date=November 2021 |title=Agency and self-other asymmetries in perceived bias and shortcomings: Replications of the Bias Blind Spot and link to free will beliefs |journal=Judgment and Decision Making |language=en |volume=16 |issue=6 |pages=1392–1412 |doi=10.1017/S1930297500008470 |issn=1930-2975|doi-access=free }}</ref>  2. The [[Illusory superiority|Better-Than-Average-Effect]] — the tendency to believe that one is overall superior to others in terms of ability and character,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Zell |first1=Ethan |last2=Strickhouser |first2=Jason E. |last3=Sedikides |first3=Constantine |last4=Alicke |first4=Mark D. |date=February 2020 |title=The better-than-average effect in comparative self-evaluation: A comprehensive review and meta-analysis |url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31789535/ |journal=Psychological Bulletin |volume=146 |issue=2 |pages=118–149 |doi=10.1037/bul0000218 |issn=1939-1455 |pmid=31789535}}</ref> and [[Confirmation bias]] — the tendency to interpret and understand information in a way that supports preexisting beliefs, thoughts, feelings, etc.<!-- that's two; where's the third? This paragraph appears incomplete, perhaps it's been altered--><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Tavris C, Aronson E |author-link1=Carol Tavris |author-link2=Elliot Aronson |title=Why We Believe – Long After We Shouldn't |journal=[[Skeptical Inquirer]] |date=2017 |volume=41 |issue=2 |pages=51–53 |url=https://www.csicop.org/si/show/why_we_believe_long_after_we_shouldnt |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181105182429/https://www.csicop.org/si/show/why_we_believe_long_after_we_shouldnt |url-status=dead |archive-date=2018-11-05 |access-date=5 November 2018}}</ref>

Having congruent, or perceived as congruent cognition is required in order to function in the real world according to the results of ''The Psychology of Prejudice'' (2006),<ref>{{Cite book |last=Nelson |first=Todd D. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_LWRQAAACAAJ |title=The Psychology of Prejudice |date=2006 |publisher=Pearson Allyn and Bacon |isbn=978-0-205-40225-0 |language=en}}</ref> wherein people facilitate their functioning in the real world by employing human categories (i.e. sex and [[gender]], age and race, etc.) with which they manage their social interactions with other people.

Based on a brief overview of models and theories related to cognitive consistency from many different scientific fields, such as social psychology, perception, neurocognition, learning, motor control, system control, ethology, and stress, it has even been proposed that "all behaviour involving cognitive processing is caused by the activation of inconsistent cognitions and functions to increase perceived consistency"; that is, all behaviour functions to reduce cognitive inconsistency at some level of information processing.<ref name=":Kampen">{{cite journal | vauthors = van Kampen HS | title = The principle of consistency and the cause and function of behaviour | journal = Behavioural Processes | volume = 159 | pages = 42–54 | date = February 2019 | pmid = 30562561 | doi = 10.1016/j.beproc.2018.12.013 | s2cid = 56478466 }}</ref> Indeed, the involvement of cognitive inconsistency has long been suggested for behaviors related to for instance [[curiosity]],<ref>{{cite book| vauthors = Berlyne DE |title=Conflict, arousal, and curiosity |date=1960|location =New York, NY|publisher=McGraw-Hill}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | vauthors = Inglis IR |chapter=Towards a cognitive theory of exploratory behaviour |year=1983 | veditors = Archer J, Birke LI |title= Exploration in Animals and Humans |pages=72–112 |location= Wokingham, England |publisher= Van Nostrand Reinhold }}</ref> and [[aggression]] and [[fear]],<ref>{{Cite book| vauthors = Hebb DD |title=The Organisation of Behavior|publisher=Wiley |year=1949|location=New York, NY}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | vauthors = Archer J |chapter=The organization of aggression and fear in vertebrates |year=1976 | veditors = Bateson PP, Klopfer PH |title=Perspectives in Ethology (Vol.2) |pages=231–298 |location=New York, NY |publisher=Plenum }}</ref> while it has also been suggested that the inability to satisfactorily reduce cognitive inconsistency may – dependent on the type and size of the inconsistency – result in [[Stress (biology)|stress]].<ref name=":Kampen"/><ref>{{cite book | vauthors = Ursin H |chapter= Expectancy and activation: An attempt to systematize stress theory |year=1988 | veditors = Hellhammer DH, Florin I, Weiner H |title= Neuronal Control of Bodily Function: Basic and Clinical Aspects, Vol. 2: Neurobiological Approaches to Human Disease |pages=313–334 |location= Kirkland, WA |publisher=Huber }}</ref>

=== Selective exposure ===
Another means to reduce cognitive dissonance is [[selective exposure theory|selective exposure]]. This theory has been discussed since the early days of Festinger's proposal of cognitive dissonance. He noticed that people would selectively expose themselves to some media over others; specifically, they would avoid dissonant messages and prefer consonant messages.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = D'Alessio D, Allen M | title = Selective exposure and dissonance after decisions | journal = Psychological Reports | volume = 91 | issue = 2 | pages = 527–532 | date = October 2002 | pmid = 12416847 | doi = 10.2466/pr0.2002.91.2.527 | s2cid = 13091938 }}</ref> Through selective exposure, people actively (and selectively) choose what to watch, view, or read that fit to their current state of mind, mood or beliefs.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Zillman D |author-link1=Dolf Zillman |title= Mood Management in the Context of Selective Exposure Theory |journal=[[Annals of the International Communication Association]] |date=2000 |volume=23 |issue=1 |pages=103–123 |doi=10.1080/23808985.2000.11678971 |s2cid=148208494 }}</ref> In other words, consumers select attitude-consistent information and avoid attitude-challenging information.<ref name="metzger">{{cite journal | vauthors = Metzger MJ, Hartsell EH, Flanagin AJ |title= Cognitive Dissonance or Credibility? A Comparison of Two Theoretical Explanations for Selective Exposure to Partisan News. |journal=[[Communication Research]] |date=2015 |volume=47 |issue=1 |pages=3–28 |doi=10.1177/0093650215613136 |s2cid=46545468 }}</ref> This can be applied to media, news, music, and any other messaging channel. The idea is, choosing something that is in opposition to how you feel or believe in will increase cognitive dissonance.

For example, a study was done in an elderly home in 1992 on the loneliest residents—those that did not have family or frequent visitors. The residents were shown a series of documentaries: three that featured a "very happy, successful elderly person", and three that featured an "unhappy, lonely elderly person."<ref name=":0">{{cite journal | vauthors = Mares ML, Cantor J |title= Elderly Viewers' Responses to Televised Portrayals of Old Age Empathy and Mood Management Versus Social Comparison. |journal=[[Communication Research]] |date=1992 |volume=19 |issue=1 |pages=469–478 |doi=10.1177/009365092019004004 |s2cid=146427447 }}</ref> After watching the documentaries, the residents indicated they preferred the media featuring the unhappy, lonely person over the happy person. This can be attested to them feeling lonely, and experiencing cognitive dissonance watching somebody their age feeling happy and being successful. This study explains how people select media that aligns with their mood, as in selectively exposing themselves to people and experiences they are already experiencing. It is more comfortable to see a movie about a character that is similar to you than to watch one about someone who is your age who is more successful than you.

Another example to note is how people mostly consume media that aligns with their political views. In a study done in 2015, participants were shown "attitudinally consistent, challenging, or politically balanced online news."<ref name="metzger"/>{{rp|p=3}} Results showed that the participants trusted attitude-consistent news the most out of all the others, regardless of the source. It is evident that the participants actively selected media that aligns with their beliefs rather than opposing media.<ref name="metzger" />

In fact, recent research has suggested that while a discrepancy between cognitions drives individuals to crave for attitude-consistent information, the experience of negative emotions drives individuals to avoid counter attitudinal information. In other words, it is the psychological discomfort which activates selective exposure as a dissonance-reduction strategy.<ref name=":1">{{cite journal | vauthors = Tsang SJ |title=Cognitive Discrepancy, Dissonance, and Selective Exposure |journal=Media Psychology |date=4 May 2019 |volume=22 |issue=3 |pages=394–417 |doi=10.1080/15213269.2017.1282873 |s2cid=220378435 }}</ref>