Thinking One Thing, Doing Another: What Happens Inside Us

This article explores what happens emotionally when people experience cognitive dissonance—that uncomfortable feeling we get when our actions don’t match our beliefs or values. For example, if someone believes it’s important to be honest but then tells a lie, they might feel a kind of mental conflict. The original theory, created by a psychologist named Leon Festinger in 1957, said this conflict causes psychological discomfort. But early research didn’t really focus on how people felt emotionally during this experience.

Now, newer studies have looked more closely at people’s emotions in these situations. Researchers found that it’s not just a vague feeling of discomfort—different situations can lead to specific emotions like anxiety, guilt, sadness, regret, or even anger. Sometimes people might even feel surprise, relief, or find something funny, depending on the context. For example, realizing you made a silly mistake might make you laugh, even though it still conflicts with how you see or are thinking about yourself. Overall, the article shows that cognitive dissonance isn't just about feeling uncomfortable—it's actually tied to a wide range of emotions. These findings help psychologists better understand how people handle inner conflict and what motivates them to change their behavior, beliefs, or emotions to feel better.

Harmon-Jones, E., Willardt, R., & Harmon-Jones, C. (2025). Discrete emotions of dissonance. Motivation Science, https://doi.org/10.1037/mot0000389

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