Final answer:
Cognitive dissonance involves psychological discomfort due to conflicting beliefs, attitudes, or behaviors. Alleviating this discomfort often requires adjustments to achieve internal harmony or conform to societal norms. Significant decisions, like smoking or making purchases, can trigger dissonance, leading to emotional and cognitive reactions.
Step-by-step explanation:
Cognitive dissonance is a psychological discomfort that arises when there is a conflict between a person's beliefs, attitudes, or behaviors. This discomfort is due to the inconsistency within oneself, affecting one's positive self-perception. For instance, if an individual recognizes that smoking is detrimental to health but continues to smoke, the conflict between belief (knowing it's bad) and behavior (continuing to smoke) induces cognitive dissonance. As a response, one might try to reduce this dissonance by quitting smoking, justifying the behavior, or changing the belief about the harmfulness of smoking.
This phenomenon can have significant effects not only psychologically but also physiologically, prompting both emotional and cognitive responses within the brain. In everyday life, situations like post-decision dissonance or buyer's remorse are common examples where individuals might experience this psychological tension after making a significant decision. To alleviate dissonance, one might seek information that supports their decision, downplay the negatives, or take steps to ensure the decision was well-founded. Adjusting internal cognitions and behaviors to be more harmonious is a key strategy in resolving dissonance.
In the context of a collectivist culture, cognitive dissonance can also arise when individual actions clash with communal expectations or values. The resolution might involve conforming to group norms or finding a balance between personal beliefs and societal expectations.