This paper examines Leon Festinger's theory of cognitive dissonance by defining consonant and dissonant cognitions and analyzing how each influences attitudes and behavior. Drawing on Festinger's foundational 1957 work alongside scholarship by Nico Frijda and Bertram Gawronski, the paper explains that dissonant cognitions produce psychological tension that motivates individuals to resolve internal conflict. Concrete examples — including an alcoholic confronted with temptation and a dieter who overeats — illustrate how incompatible cognitions generate negative affect and drive behavioral change. The paper concludes that consonant cognitions support psychological consistency, while dissonant cognitions create discomfort that prompts efforts toward cognitive and behavioral realignment.
Leon Festinger developed the theory of cognitive dissonance based on the "relationships among cognitions" (Rudolph). A cognition is described as a "piece of knowledge," which may be a certain behavior, a value, an emotion, or an attitude, according to Frederick M. Rudolph. Dissonance is defined simply as a state of conflict, tension, or disagreement.
A typical cognition could be as simple as the fact that a person prefers the color blue — the knowledge that blue is a favorite color is a cognition. The knowledge that a person just caught a long pass for a first down in a football game is another cognition, and the knowledge that the Supreme Court ruled that corporations are people in the Citizens United case is yet another. In other words, a neighbor has a cognition — that is, is cognizant of the fact — that his neighborhood is a drug-dealing zone; and the mother of a child with Down syndrome has a cognition that her child is intellectually disabled.
A person may hold several cognitions at the same time, and Rudolph explains that these cognitions "form irrelevant, consonant, or dissonant relationships with one another" (p. 2). Two cognitions are dissonant if "one cognition follows from the opposite of another"; moreover, an individual with dissonant cognitions is "said to be in a state of psychological dissonance — an unpleasant psychological tension" (Rudolph, p. 1).
Professor Nico Frijda explains that "dissonant relations between cognitions" are potentially the cause of "negative affects" and that this provides motivation for a person to try to "reduce or eliminate the discrepancies between cognitions" (Frijda, 2000, p. 186).
A consonant cognition — consonant literally meaning being in agreement with something — or cognitive dissonance as it is often referred to, tends to lead the person toward a reduction of dissonance. When dissonance occurs, the person will use certain "pressures to reduce it," according to Festinger (Festinger, 1957, p. 3). In that case, the person who experiences dissonance will be motivated "to try and reduce dissonance and achieve consonance" (Festinger, p. 3).
Dissonance becomes apparent when two cognitions "generate mutually incompatible behavior dispositions," Frijda writes (p. 188). Two incompatible behaviors could be the tendency to both avoid and approach the same object. For example, an alcoholic experiences dissonant cognitions when he sees a vodka drink being poured by a bartender: he remembers how good alcohol tasted, yet he knows he cannot return to his former habits.
Author Bertram Gawronski explains that when a dieter who is working hard to lose weight finishes a "fattening meal, he would likely be in a state of dissonance" because his cognitions regarding his recent behavior "are most resistant to change" (Gawronski, 2012, p. 48). The dieter's rationalizations after the meal include cognitions consonant with those recent behaviors and attitudes, Gawronski explains (p. 48).
In his book, Festinger explains that hunger, frustration, or "disequilibrium" are considered as being linked to dissonance, and that "cognitive dissonance can be seen as an antecedent condition which leads to activity oriented toward dissonance reduction" (p. 3). In fact, in the case of hunger — which leads to certain activities directed toward finding and eating food — the behavior is in psychological terms called "dissonance reduction" (Festinger, p. 3).
According to Britannica, the concept of cognitive dissonance remains one of the most influential and widely studied phenomena in social psychology, underscoring the enduring relevance of Festinger's original framework to understanding human motivation and behavior.
When two relevant cognitions — elements of knowledge — are not consistent with one another, or are at odds in some way, there exists the potential for dissonance: an uncomfortable situation that causes negative attitudes. Consonant cognitions are psychologically consistent with "generative cognition" — generative meaning capable of producing something — while dissonant cognitions are psychologically inconsistent with generative cognition.
Festinger, Leon. A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance. Stanford University Press, 1957.
Frijda, Nico H., S. R. Manstead, and Sacha Bern. Emotions and Beliefs: How Feelings Influence Thoughts. Cambridge University Press, 2000.
Gawronski, Bertram. Cognitive Consistency: A Fundamental Principle in Social Cognition. Guilford Press, 2012.
Rudolph, Frederick M. "General Experimental Psychology Cognitive Dissonance Lab / The Theory of Cognitive Dissonance." 2004.
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