cognitive dissonance
noun Psychology.
anxiety that results from simultaneously holding contradictory or otherwise incompatible attitudes, beliefs, or the like, as when one likes a person but disapproves strongly of one of his or her habits.
Origin of cognitive dissonance
First recorded in 1960–65
Words nearby cognitive dissonance
British Dictionary definitions for cognitive dissonance
cognitive dissonance
noun
psychol
an uncomfortable mental state resulting from conflicting cognitions; usually resolved by changing some of the cognitions