Therapy focuses on providing the individual the necessary skills to prevent a lapse from escalating into a relapse31. Training in assertiveness involves two steps, a minimal effective response and escalation. When the minimal effective response (such as informing friends that “I do not drink”) is not sufficient to bring about change, the individual is instructed to escalate to a stronger response, such as warning, threat, involving others’ support. Role play, behavioural rehearsal and modeling are used to train patients in assertiveness. Patient is instructed not to provide explanations for abstinence so as to avoid counter arguments. Specific training steps to suit patients in the Indian setting have been described16,17.
- Additionally, the study found that self-efficacy negatively regulates the effect of cognitive dissonance and the impact of information overload, service overload, and user addiction on cognitive dissonance.
- In the study, individuals were asked to perform 30 minutes of a very boring and tedious activity.
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It is a theory with very broad applications, showing that we aim for consistency between attitudes and behaviors and may not use very rational methods to achieve it. It has the advantage of being testable by scientific means (i.e., experiments). In other words, he could tell himself that a short life filled with smoking and sensual pleasures is better than a long life devoid of such joys.
Effects of Cognitive Dissonance
The discriminant validity analysis is to verify whether there is a statistical difference between two different constructs. The items in different constructs should not be highly correlated, and if they are (0.85 or higher), it means that these items are measuring the same thing, which often happens when the definitions of the constructs overlap excessively. The diagonal is the square root of each factor’s AVE, greater than the standardized correlation coefficients outside the diagonal. This study has discriminant validity, and the lower triangle is the correlation coefficient. For example, thinking smoking causes lung cancer will cause dissonance if a person smokes.
The Effects of Cognitive Dissonance on Romantic Relationships
One helpful cognitive strategy in the initial phase of CBT includes using the Advantage/disadvantage technique with the patient29. The therapist and patient collaboratively review the advantages/disadvantages of engaging in substance use or cognitive dissonance and addiction addictive behaviour. Problem solving therapy (PST) is a cognitive behavioural program that addresses interpersonal problems and other problem situations that may trigger stress and thereby increase probability of the addictive behaviour.
- Depending on the situation, this uncomfortable feeling of dissonance can be mild or severe, and often motivates us to get back to what’s known as “consonance”.
- Subsequently inadequate coping and lack of assertiveness and low self-efficacy maintained his drinking.
- People will seek out information that confirms what they already believe to be true while avoiding things that conflict with their beliefs.
- Individuals who experience an intense AVE go through a motivation crisis that affects their commitment to abstinence goals30,31.
- The focus of CBT is manifold and the focus is on targeting maintaining factors of addictive behaviours and preventing relapse.
- As you can imagine, participant’s attitudes toward this task were highly negative.
The Psychological Struggle of Addictive Behaviors
Therapeutic approaches such as cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) can be highly effective in helping individuals identify and challenge conflicting thoughts, ultimately promoting positive behavioral changes. The discomfort (dissonance) https://ecosoberhouse.com/ motivates individuals to decrease the inconsistency between one’s wishes and beliefs. After all, behaving against one’s wishes and intentions violates a fundamental human need to see oneself as a rational and consistent person.
How to Reduce Cognitive Dissonance
Furthermore, emotional and cognitive conflicts arise in addiction due to cognitive dissonance. Emotionally, individuals may feel guilt, shame, or anxiety as a result of their addictive behaviors conflicting with their personal values. Cognitively, they may experience internal debates and justifications, which further exacerbate the psychological struggle. A smoker, for example, who knows that smoking causes cancer, experiences cognitive dissonance if she continues to smoke.
Lessons for overcoming barriers to change
Inhibition of GABA activity could lead to an overall increase in neural activity throughout the brain, which might lead to the formation of stronger associations than would normally occur, including maladaptive drug-context associations. Recent research has sought to account for the strikingly long-lasting ability of maladaptive drug-stimulus associations to influence behavior and provoke relapse. Studies have shown that many abused substances can reshape the communication pathways between neurons (synaptic plasticity), which could contribute to both the formation and the persistence of maladaptive drug-stimulus associations.
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Dissonance only occurs only when a person is aware of the inconsistency in their opposing beliefs and experiences the discomfort that opposition causes. Alcoholics (and other substance abusers) often experience Cognitive Dissonance. Addicts are fully aware of the dangers of alcohol and drug abuse but will find new and creative ways to justify their self-destructive behaviours. Leon Fester, psychologist and author of the book; A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance (1957), proposed that people experience psychological unease when their beliefs are conflicting or when their actions and behaviours contradict each other. In fact, Festinger suggested that in some cases, people cope with inconsistency by disregarding it entirely and simply blindly believing whatever they want. In other words, they reduce cognitive dissonance by ignoring things that contradict their beliefs.