AP PSYCHOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -cognitive consistency can be defined as the concept that individuals have a preference for their thoughts, beliefs, knowledges, opinions, attitudes, and intents to be congruent, which is to say that they don’t contradict each other.

Detailed explanation-2: -Cognitive dissonance-which is defined as “the state of having inconsistent thoughts, beliefs, or attitudes, especially as relating to behavioral decisions and attitude change”-is something most people have experienced at one point or another.

Detailed explanation-3: -A prime example of this has to do with smoking cigarettes. That smoking causes cancer is a well established fact. Despite knowing this, people continue to smoke even though they want to live long lives.

Detailed explanation-4: -Cognitive dissonance occurs when a person holds two related but contradictory cognitions, or thoughts. The psychologist Leon Festinger came up with the concept in 1957.