Introduction
Cognitive dissonance is when one mental state is not at rest because of two conflicting attitudes, beliefs, or values. These can make someone uncomfortable. The unpleasant state encourages the individuals to lower the contradictions. People try to ease this pressure in diverse ways, such as through denial. For example, if someone advocates the privileges of physical activity and exercise yet leaves an inactive way of life, they are in a state of cognitive dissonance. It is noble to note thatcognitive dissonance consists of three main stages: trigger, psychological tension, and rationalization to mitigate pressure. In addition, its application is extensive in different research studies, including the institutions of learning, healthcare, and mental therapies, which broadly try to scrutinize human discernment.The paper seeks to reason out cognitive dissonance theory, showcase its effect when applied in clinical judgment, and the psychophysiological consequences that amplify its significance and impact on human choices and reasoning.
Psychophysiological Correlates of Cognitive Dissonance
Likewise, Ploger et al. (2021) basically measured heart rate variability (HRV) and electrodermal activity (EDA) changes in skin conductance, indicating activation of the sympathetic nervous system. This study agrees that when weighed against non-dissonant situations, those experiencing cognitive dissonance showed significant spikes in EDA and changes in HRV-defining traits. Correspondingly, these results imply that a stress response, marked by increased arousal and physiological reactivity, is triggered by cognitive dissonance. In addition, the complex mechanism of cognitive dissonance and its effect on the interaction between the mind and the body are highlighted by the reciprocal relationship between brain activity and how the body responds (Ploger et al., 2021).
Similarly, Ploger et al. (2021) research findings also highlight how the neurological mechanisms that form the basis of cognitive dissonance emphasize the functionality of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) and the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). Besides, even though the vmPFC is engaged in judgment-making and emotional management, the ACC is linked to error identification and conflict oversight. Besides, this suggests that interpreting cognitive dissonance and controlling emotional reactions depend heavily on the connectivity of these brain areas. In hindsight, by stressing the work of cognition in social mannerism, dissonance theory changes social psychology by giving the first testable piece to intellectualize by what means cognition could be motivated and how the motivations could profit from the fascinating form of social mannerism (Ploger et al., 2021). Therefore, the theory helps us mirror potentially uncomplimentary human brain phases. To illustrate, people value goals and items that require much effort to acquire. Subsequently, when extra pressure is applied to achieving something, dissonance occurs when we fail to achieve the goal, resulting in negative energy, meaning that someone can spend a lot of time and effort to get something, end up being a failure, to evade the produced dissonance, one attempt to convince their self that the time was minimal and the effort was not that much. Despite this, the person can be forced to assume that the work done was profitable enough. One can go through effort rating and justification, methods to reduce dissonance. The assumption is consistent with suggestions made by Ploger et al. (2021), which justifies that if the effort to work willingly turns out badly, the dissonance is diminished regarding the work done interestingly, which justifies the effort made.
Implication of Clinical Judgment
Accordingly, Klein & McColl’s (2019) research examination report highlights how cognitive dissonance can impair clinical judgment, specifically in the context of healthcare, by pinpointing the self-protective distortions that medical personnel can display in response to contradicting facts, which could result in poor decisions and patient care. The study indicates that clinicians exhibiting confirmatory bias, anchoring bias, or untimely closure—a preference for well-known or established notions over contradicting information—may exhibit these biases. Consequently, Klein & McColl (2019) research authors propose the significance of cognitive dissonance mindfulness in medical training and clinical practice by highlighting several methods for reducing the negative effects of cognitive dissonance on healthcare judgment, that is, peer feedback, contemplative practice, and intellectual debiasing approaches. All this suggests that healthcare professionals can improve their capacity to resolve psychological disputes and make well-calculated, based on data-judgmental choices by encouraging mental agility and enhancing analytical abilities. For example, in the context of involuntary compliance behavior by healthcare practitioners, one is pressured to undertake something they don’t want to partake in; dissonance is formed between their cognition and actions (Klein & McColl, 2019). Granted, when a practitioner performs an action that has irregularities with their beliefs, the mannerisms can’t be altered because they were in the former times. So dissonance will be lowered and redirect their attitude against their work done.
Conceptual Structures and Real-world Implementations
Likewise, the theory of cognitive dissonance stems from different theoretical applications, all of which bring about different viewpoints on how humans handle cognitive conflicts. Accordingly, according to the self-perception theory, humans deduce and presume how they feel and what they believe from the way they carry themselves and their behavior, particularly in circumstances that are obscure or involve subtle signals within themselves. Hence, as a result, to lessen cognitive dissonance, this self-presumption process may result in an attitude adjustment or justification. By contrast, the selective exposure theory indicatively suggests that people actively seek out information supporting their preexisting beliefs and avoid findings and details contradicting their own stance or standpoints. Admittedly, this selective information processing can lead to partisanship and feedback loops, where people associate with others who share their opinions to minimize cognitive discomfort and reinforce what they already believe is right or wrong.
Treatment options to lessen cognitive biases and to foster critical thinking can greatly apply cognitive dissonance comprehension and its resulting conceptual frameworks; to exemplify in therapeutic contexts instances, cognitive-behavioral therapy approaches involving approaches like rewiring one’s brain and thought questioning can aid individuals in identifying and addressing issues with cognition. In educational settings, incorporating viewpoints, promoting candid communication, and cultivating an intellectually humble culture can all help students positively interact with cognitive dissonance.
Conclusion
In summary, the theory of cognitive dissonance is an eye-opener into the intricacies of human thought and behavior, transcending neurological discomfort to include responses to stimuli, methods of choice-making, and, importantly, theoretical ideas. Employing empirical evaluation and multidisciplinary cooperation, researchers persist in elucidating the mechanisms that underlie cognitive dissonance and its ramifications in several fields. Ultimately, improving the choice-making process in healthcare and learning institutions, extensive studies, and employing cognitive dissonance theory are paramount in advancing awareness regarding how humans think and behave. Also, it is advisable to promote critical reasoning orchestrated in support of cognitive development in individuals and society to comprehend best the psychophysiological correlates, effects on clinical reasoning, and theoretical foundations of cognitive dissonance.
References
Klein, J., & McColl, G. (2019). Cognitive dissonance: how self‐protective distortions can undermine clinical judgement. Medical Education, 53(12), 1178–1186. https://doi.org/10.1111/medu.13938
Ploger, G. W., Dunaway, J., Fournier, P., & Soroka, S. (2021). The psychophysiological correlates of cognitive dissonance. Politics and the Life Sciences, 40(2), 202–212. https://doi.org/10.1017/pls.2021.15
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