Cognitive dissonance

I think you’ll all recognize this. You’re shopping and just bought an item that was on sale. Then you go to the next store where you see this great shirt or whatever. You look at the price tag and see it’s actually too expensive for you. But then you’re thinking: ‘Hmm, I just saved me some money on something that I would’ve bought anyway. So if you subtract the money I saved from that item, from this shirt, it’s actually not that expensive. I’ll buy it!’.

Or this: You’re on a diet and you’re not allowed to eat snacks. Then one day you have something to celebrate, like you passed all your exams you worked really hard for. And then you’re thinking: ‘I worked so hard for this, I now deserve a nice piece of pie!’.  

We all do it. We all sometimes try to justify our behaviour, feelings and/or thoughts. It’s called cognitive dissonance. Trying to talk something straight so you won’t feel guilty about your actions. It’s a natural habit I guess.

Think about all the things you tried to justify the past seven days. I’m pretty sure you can at least name one!