Cognitive Dissonance is a psychological term for the discomfort that most of us feel when we encounter information which contradicts our existing set of beliefs

Cognitive Dissonance is a psychological term for the discomfort that most of us feel when we encounter information which contradicts our existing set of beliefs or values. We who suffer from personality disorders often experience cognitive dissonance when we are confronted with evidence that their actions have hurt others or have contradicted our stated morals.

“It’s is an uncomfortable feeling caused by holding conflicting ideas simultaneously. The theory of cognitive dissonance proposes that we have a motivational drive to reduce dissonance. We do this by changing our attitudes, beliefs, and actions {or holding on to past beliefs, attitudes, and actions in favour of more logical, update, or fully functional ones}. Dissonance is also reduced by justifying, blaming, and denying. A closely related term, cognitive disequilibrium, refers to the experience of a discrepancy between something new and something already known or believed.