Final answer:
Cognitive dissonance occurs when there is a conflict between inconsistent beliefs, behaviors, or attitudes, particularly when it challenges an individual's positive self-image, leading to psychological discomfort that the person is then motivated to reduce.
Step-by-step explanation:
According to psychologist Leon Festinger, people experience cognitive dissonance when they perceive a conflict between two or more inconsistent attitudes, behaviors, or cognitions. This psychological discomfort arises especially when such conflicts challenge an individual's positive self-image or self-esteem. Festinger suggests that we are motivated to reduce this discomfort by aligning our cognitions, attitudes, and behaviors to be more consistent with one another, thereby restoring mental comfort. An example of cognitive dissonance would be continuing to smoke despite believing it's bad for your health, leading to a conflict between belief and behavior.
The discomfort of cognitive dissonance is not merely psychological but can also cause physiological arousal and activate brain regions associated with emotions and cognitive functions. To reduce cognitive dissonance, a person might change their behavior, such as quitting smoking, or change their beliefs, for example, by discounting evidence that smoking is harmful, or introducing a new cognition that justifies the behavior.