cognitive dissonance addiction

Constant mobile phone use has resulted in the concept of Nomophobia, in other words, the fear of being out of mobile phone contact [40]. The term nomophobia refers to the worry or fear that individuals experience when they do not have a mobile phone or are unable to use it [41]. More generally, it is the pathological fear of being out of touch with technology [42]. Once individuals realize just how conflicting their beliefs are, they work hard to relieve the discomfort in an attempt to resolve Dissonance – this is titled “The Principle of Cognitive Consistency”.

cognitive dissonance addiction

Type D personality and smartphone addiction

The brain regions and neural processes that underlie addiction overlap extensively with those that support cognitive functions, including learning, memory, and reasoning. Drug activity in these regions and processes during early stages of abuse foster strong maladaptive associations between drug use and environmental stimuli that may underlie future cravings and drug-seeking behaviors. With continued drug use, cognitive deficits ensue that exacerbate the difficulty of establishing sustained abstinence. The developing brain is particularly susceptible to the effects of drugs of abuse; prenatal, childhood, and adolescent exposures produce long-lasting changes in cognition.

How to improve adaptability skills

cognitive dissonance addiction

One example of this type of psychological research is the studies originally done by Leon Festinger in the 1950’s. This term simply means that when we have two conflicting thoughts (cognitions), or if we behave in ways that conflict with our beliefs or values, we experience an unpleasant feeling of cognitive dissonance. 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”.

Dangers of Cognitive Dissonance for Substance Abusers

cognitive dissonance addiction

Subsequently inadequate coping and lack of assertiveness and low self-efficacy maintained his drinking. The following section presents a brief overview of some of the major approaches to managing addictive behaviours. The first step in planning a cognitive behavioural treatment program is to carry https://ecosoberhouse.com/ out a functional analysis to identify maintaining antecedents and set treatments targets, select interventions. When you feel either physical or psychological discomfort, make a note of it to yourself. Cognitive bias is the tendency to process information in the light of our own experiences.

What Are the Emotional and Cognitive Conflicts in Addiction?

Many studies have shown that supportive information contact, information overload [40], contribution overload, differences in system function services [41], and high expectations [42] can produce varying degrees of cognitive dissonance and reduce continuance intention. Cognitive dissonance theory suggests that cognitive consistency is the basic principle of user information processing. Jeong et al. [43] suggested that the cognitive dissonance of users’ opposing views negatively affects discontinuous usage behavior.

cognitive dissonance addiction

  • Theoretically, dissonance may contribute to a variety of changes in behavior or beliefs.
  • These findings expand upon previous research on discontinuous usage intentions among social media users and offer insights into the underlying psychological mechanisms among users of pan-entertainment mobile live broadcast platforms.
  • Heider’s Balance Theory, on the other hand, emphasizes the desire for balanced relations among triads of entities (like people and attitudes), with imbalances prompting changes in attitudes to restore balance.
  • Many people seem able to cope with considerable dissonance and not experience the tensions the theory predicts.
  • People who learn that greenhouse emissions result in global warming might experience feelings of dissonance if they drive a gas-guzzling vehicle.
  • According to the self-regulation theory, people maintain or restore psychological balance in a wide variety of ways [32], and people who have more negative emotions have a greater need for self-regulation [33].

One area of human behavior where we can see examples of cognitive dissonance at work is the arena of addiction and addiction treatment. The results of this study suggest that Type D personality can not only affect smartphone addiction directly but also indirectly through nomophobia and negative metacognition. Self-efficacy has a moderating effect on the relationship between service overload and cognitive dissonance among users of the pan-entertainment cognitive dissonance addiction mobile live broadcast platform. Self-efficacy has a moderating effect on the relationship between user addiction and cognitive dissonance among users of the pan-entertainment mobile live broadcast platform. It is similar to the cognitive model of emotional disorders proposed by Beck9. Additionally, this model acknowledges the contributions of social cognitive constructs to the maintenance of substance use or addictive behaviour and relapse1.

  • Mike DiPalma has been with the company since April of 2003 and holds an AA degree in Psychology from Los Angeles Valley College.
  • Cognitive dissonance occurs when a person holds two related but contradictory cognitions, or thoughts.
  • This study has discriminant validity, and the lower triangle is the correlation coefficient.
  • Group therapy and other methods must be prefaced with the “beginner’s mind,” however.

If you know texting and driving is dangerous, for example, changing the behavior will protect you and others in the long term. On the other hand, changing your perception of the behavior by telling yourself you have enough driving experience to text and drive safely will not have the same long-term outcome. She is also the the Co-Host of the popular Elevate Experience Podcast, a no-holds-barred look at addiction and the power of effective treatment. I’ve had experience with recovery since 1996 and began working in the field in early 2004. He has worked for Elevate Addiction Services for over 2 years, and is board-certified in family and addiction medicine. Currently, he is pursuing a fellowship in psychiatry and is affiliated with both UC Irvine and UC Davis.

What is cognitive dissonance and how do you reduce it?

The mind works to resolve the discomfort caused by opposition between desire and need, and the individual may change their perception as a defense mechanism. Simply put, a person experiencing cognitive dissonance will make any excuse to justify their thinking and minimize the anxiety and discomfort they may experience. When they’re asked difficult questions about their addiction, they may minimize the dangers of their actions.