Cognitive dissonance is a psychological term that describes the discomfort you feel when your beliefs don’t line up with your actions. Or it could refer to the tension of holding two conflicting ...

Jocelyn Solis-Moreira is a New York-based science journalist whose work has appeared in Health, Live Science, and Discover Magazine, among other publications. She holds a master's degree in psychology ...

Cognitive dissonance is what happens when a person holds two sets of beliefs at odds with each other. The human brain doesn’t like logical inconsistencies, so someone experiencing cognitive dissonance ...

You've been presented with two viable options for a new career. The first option is what you've always wanted—the role sounds like a perfect fit. But the second option comes with higher pay and better ...

Perhaps you remember the story of William Miller, the Baptist preacher who predicted that Jesus Christ’s second coming would occur on Oct. 22, 1844. When the advent failed to occur as Miller foretold, ...

I’ve been academically intrigued in recent months to see so many political references to “cognitive dissonance.” As a social psychologist who has taught and conducted dissonance research for over 20 ...

In 1934, an 8.0-magnitude earthquake hit eastern India, killing thousands and devastating several cities. Curiously, in areas that were spared the worst destruction, stories soon spread that an even ...

We like having consistency in our worlds. It makes sense - to be the best people we can be, we like having predictability. Otherwise we would be spending our time weathering crises more than attending ...