Watch
Cognitive dissonance 0:56
A 56-second explainer of Cognitive dissonance, narrated over the same demo you can try yourself.
Try the interactive Cognitive dissonance demo
What this video covers
Cognitive dissonance is the discomfort of holding two things that don't fit - a belief and a contradicting action, or a choice and its downsides - and the mind's habit of quietly resolving it by changing one of them. Rather than sit with the tension, people adjust their attitudes to match what they've already done, so behaviour ends up reshaping belief.
After you committed, your ratings drifted - the option you chose looked a little better, the one you passed up a little worse. You didn't lie; your mind nudged your views to fit your choice and ease the "did I pick right?" itch. That's cognitive dissonance resolving itself, and it's why the moment just after a decision is the moment to reassure, not to second-guess.
