Cognitive dissonance

**Cognitive dissonance** refers to the psychological discomfort experienced when a person holds two or more contradictory beliefs, values, or attitudes simultaneously. This mental conflict often motivates individuals to reduce the inconsistency by changing their beliefs, justifying their behavior, or ignoring conflicting information. Understanding cognitive dissonance is essential in fields such as psychology, marketing, decision-making, and behavioral science, as it helps explain how people resolve internal conflicts and maintain mental harmony.