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Cognitive Dissonance

An individual suffers from cognitive dissonance when there is a conflict of thoughts. This conflict arises when two or more ideas do not go together; people find this conflict distressing and are motivated to reduce it.

Cognitive dissonance is a state of an attitude system in which two cognitive elements are logically contradictory, or inconsistent as opposed to cognitive consistency which is a state in which thoughts or ideas are logically in line with each other.

When people are motivated to reduce the conflict, change in attitudes may be observed.

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In this latest series we'll be focusing on the BASES OF HUMAN BEHAVIOUR.

This video touches upon the cultural basis of human behaviour.

It can be argued that human behaviour is more complex than the behaviour of animals. A major reason behind this complexity is that we have a culture to regulate our behaviour.

For example, the basic need of hunger has a biological basis and is common among humans and animals. But the way it is gratified by human beings is extremely complex. Some people eat vegetarian food, while others eat non- vegetarian food. How have they become vegetarians and non- vegetarians? Some vegetarians take eggs, others don't. Why is that so? Even the manner in which food is eaten is different.

So much of our behaviour is influenced by the culture we live in. Let's try to understand the different bases of our behaviour.

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POLARIZATION is another type of cognitive distortion. It makes the person perceive the world in a black and white approach. The person is unable to grasp nuances and other complexities of the world. It increases the anxiety level of the individual. It is commonly seen when people are going through stressed times.

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Catastrophizing is a type of cognitive distortion where a person jumps to the worst possible conclusion(s) when in an unpleasant situation.

The person has a lot of "what if" questions running through their head. The negative consequences of events or decisions are exaggerated.

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Cognition is the process of knowing. It involves the mental activities associated with thought, decision- making, language, and other higher mental processes.

Thinking, remembering, perceiving, planning and choosing are all mental processes that come under 'cognition'.

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Feelings are transitory. Every time you get overwhelmed by your feelings take a second to stop. Let yourself breathe, stop yourself for 3 seconds, take a step back, physically engage yourself in a simple task, eg, breathing through your nose, opening and closing your fists to let the emotions flow.

Consciously make the decision to step back and not let the emotions get the better of you. Once you have calmed down and don't have the same intense reaction, then try and think about the situation.

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A simple tip to build confidence. We all have our own definitions of success. We all have strived to achieve certain goals professionally and personally. One way to build confidence is to revisit the times when you felt you achieved something, whatever it was, however big or small. These experiences are your evidence, that you are competent, you have what it takes to be confident, to achieve whatever it is next you've set your eyes upon.

Many people struggle with maintaining confidence. Its an effort to maintain that level of faith in oneself for so many. But its alright. It is completely okay to struggle. There are always ways to go around the struggle and face the challenges. This is one such way.

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Emotional intelligence is intelligence that involves the ability to process emotional information. We use this information in reasoning and other cognitive activities. It involves the ability to identify and regulate one's own and other's emotions.