One of the great mysteries in both religion and politics is why people continue to hold on to fervently cherished beliefs in spite of evidence contrary to those beliefs. I will give some examples in ...

Cognitive dissonance is everywhere — but it’s not well understood. When we’re aware of it, it can be a powerful motivator for behavioral change and enhance insight. When we're not, it can cause us to ...

"We can be blind to the obvious, and we are also blind to our blindness." –Daniel Kahneman Cognitive dissonance, a psychological phenomenon first identified by Leon Festinger in 1957, refers to the ...

You could hang on to the empty bottle, or throw it in with general rubbish. If you are particularly passionate about recycling, the latter option may feel quite distressing. However, you might peek ...

We are seeing the latest example of the scary power of the phenomenon of cognitive dissonance to distort our thinking. Though I am outraged at the harm done by misinformation — death threats to ...

Cognitive dissonance is what happens when a person holds two sets of beliefs at odds with each other. The human brain doesn’t like logical inconsistencies, so someone experiencing cognitive dissonance ...

You've been presented with two viable options for a new career. The first option is what you've always wanted—the role sounds like a perfect fit. But the second option comes with higher pay and better ...

In my roles as a CIO, entrepreneur, investor and Professor (I teach a course at Berklee called “The Innovator’s DNA”), I think about innovation constantly. I know from personal experience (”What ...

Do you keep second-guessing your decisions after you’ve made them? Immobilizing yourself? Berating yourself when you finally decide on something? This can be a normal albeit painful way to make ...

Perhaps you remember the story of William Miller, the Baptist preacher who predicted that Jesus Christ’s second coming would occur on Oct. 22, 1844. When the advent failed to occur as Miller foretold, ...

A leading large language model displays behaviors that resemble a hallmark of human psychology: cognitive dissonance. Anyone who interacts with an AI chatbot for the first time is struck by how human ...

A bunch of psychological studies have found something surprising about President Donald Trump’s most loyal supporters. Researchers conducting three different studies looked at how Trump supporters ...