How does cognitive dissonance affect relationships?

Some examples of cognitive dissonance in relationships are cheating and abusive behavior, as mentioned earlier in the article, displaying unsupportive behavior, and not being willing to commit. A partner believes that for a relationship to work, both partners must provide support. Cognitive dissonance occurs in nearly every type of human relationship, whether familial, romantic, or platonic. It's impossible to completely avoid cognitive dissonance because new knowledge is always compared to past experiences.

It is important to keep in mind that cognitive dissonance is the most present in situations that are important for self-concept. Cognitive dissonance (from the Latin words “cogniti” and “dissonance”) is a state of mental distress in people caused by a collision, a conflict of ideas, beliefs, values, or emotional reactions in their mind. We can conclude that cognitive dissonance is a situation in which you decide to justify your actions or those of others to drastically reduce your internal conflict. According to Festinger (197), cognitive dissonance refers to the way in which people feel uncomfortable when they experience two contradictory beliefs and behaviors, values or desires.

This type of stimulus shock brings to the fore the psychological application of this phenomenon known as cognitive dissonance. There are often cognitive dissonances about the partner, destiny, jealousy as a sign of love, eternal love and passion, etc. Dismissing the decision as if it were for a friend leads to more objective evaluations, which breaks with the usual and self-threatening nature of cognitive dissonance. Once analyzed, cognitive dissonance seems to present more challenges than are normally recognized.

Cognitive dissonance is the psychological theory that describes the discomfort that results from having two or more opposing beliefs, or the conflict between an action and a single belief. This results in cognitive dissonance in Carrie, as her perception of her partner now clashes with her undesirable actions. How cognitive dissonance affects friendship, dating and marriage, as well as how it develops in abusive relationships. Sublimating negative emotions into vigorous activity is one of the best ways to resolve social cognitive dissonance.

However, the biggest drawback of cognitive dissonance is that it acts quickly, often without us realizing it.

Hilary Gibbons
Hilary Gibbons

Subtly charming twitter ninja. Freelance zombie guru. Friendly bacon enthusiast. Tv scholar. Extreme food junkie.