Cognitive Case Study- Motivation and Emotion

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Cognitive Dissonance Perception Case Study

Cognitive dissonance is defined as the mental discomfort or stress an individual who believes in two or more contradicting beliefs, values or ideas (at the same time) or is confronted by new information that is in conflict with the existing beliefs, values or ideas, experiences. It is an aversive state like that of thirst or hunger is created by the inconsistencies between two (or more) cognitions, and this state motivates one to remove the inconsistencies. Cognitive dissonance can be uncomfortable because the two (or more) ideas one perceives are contradictory and cause physical tension. This dissonance may be guilt, frustration, anger or even embarrassment ("Cognitive Dissonance and Habits").

The dissonance task incorporated into this study according to Harmon Jones E. and Harmon Jones C. (2002) is how one's mindset manipulation can affect attitudes as well as any given outcome.

Smoking lung cancer

A diagram of cognitive dissonance theory. Dissonan...

English: Diagram about motivation and cognitive di...

This was experimented through physical exercises (such as abdominal exercises, miniature basketball, martial arts video work out, jumping rope, Harvard step test, aerobic exercise video work out, using exercise bands and lifting weights) that were to be designed based on personality traits in relation to fitness and health habits. There were three conditioned mindsets (neutral, action oriented and deliberative) according to Harmon Jones E. and Harmon Jones C. (2002), and different results were observed given different experiments.

Joe's smoking "habit" is likely to have developed because he likes how he felt while smoking (first cognition) while knowing that smoking is bad (second cognition). He also wants to live a long life (third cognition) yet engages with an activity that is likely to make that life short (fourth cognition).He probably enjoys it so much that he feels it's worth it. He knows...