ABSTRACT
Individuals hate inconsistency among their cognitions, and thus, mental representations that are inconsistent with each other generate psychological stress similar to an unpleasant drive state that, like other drive states such as hunger, needs to be reduced. When a person is faced with evidence that contradicts their personal beliefs, values and ideals they will create a way to resolve the contradiction in order to reduce their stress and discomfort. Self-consistency, self-affirmation, new look and self-standards social-psychological theories explain Festinger’s findings. Psychoanalysis suggests that dissonance awareness, being mindful of the contrast and general relationship between the situational and unconscious processes, is what matters most for one’s ability to sort out a serious problem. To the extent that one has strongly felt and flexibly and creatively applied transcendent-pointing moral beliefs and values, one is more likely to deal with everyday existence in a manner that reflects reasonable consistency in outlook and behavior. One will be less susceptible to the upsurge of emotional storms associated with morally serious dissonance arousal by engaging in counter-guilt-inducing behavior, being other-directed, other-regarding and other-serving in overall comportment.
