They may also engage in certain behaviors that may clearly be illogical to others. However, the person may do this with the belief that their behavior cognitive dissonance addiction makes total sense. This explains why people abuse drugs and alcohol despite the dangers and their loved ones’ attempts to get them help.
A Note on Cognitive Dissonance in Relationships
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. Self-efficacy regulates https://ecosoberhouse.com/ motivation, thinking, emotional state, and behavior [45]. Challenging stressors stimulate self-efficacy, whereas hindering stressors reduce individual self-efficacy; high self-efficacy promotes usage intention and low self-efficacy reduces behavioral motivation [46].
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In fact the animal decides that they are rotten and is able to happily go along its way without any sense that it lost out on anything. For individuals to resolve Cognitive Dissonance, they must be willing to do the work required to shift their beliefs, attitudes and behaviours into alignment with each other. They may even behave in a way that is incongruous to their perception of self, in this case, the individual (to restore Cognitive Dissonance) will often become motivated to change those negative feelings, which ultimately soothes psychological stress. In such cases, people often reduce cognitive dissonance by only seeking out information that confirms the things that they already believe (a phenomenon known as the confirmation bias).
Challenge your beliefs
CBT belongs to a family of interventions that are focused on the identification and modification of dysfunctional cognitions in order to modify negative emotions and behaviours. A person who abuses drugs and alcohol may convince themselves that their behavior is justified because of cognitive dissonance. Any truth behind the dangers of their addiction will be hidden behind the lies, denial, justification, and minimization they may practice.
One helpful cognitive strategy in the initial phase of CBT includes using the Advantage/disadvantage technique with the patient29. The therapist and patient collaboratively review the advantages/disadvantages of engaging in substance use or addictive behaviour. Relapse is seen as transitional process and not an endpoint or an outcome failure. The lapse process consists of a series of internal and external events, identified and analyzed in the process of therapy. Therapy focuses on providing the individual the necessary skills to prevent a lapse from escalating into a relapse31.
- To resolve cognitive dissonance, a person can aim to ensure that their actions are consistent with their values or vice versa.
- It provides an introduction to the theory and covers the topics of cognitive dissonance following decisions, the effects of forced compliance, the impacts of voluntary and involuntary exposure to information, and the role of social support.
- My goal is for everyone to enjoy coming to work, and for their days to be as productive as possible toward the end of helping people put their lives back together.
- We want to give recovering addicts the tools to return to the outside world completely substance-free and successful.
- The American social psychologist Festinger [38] proposed the Cognitive Dissonance Theory (CDT), which is based on Gestalt psychology, to analyze the psychological conflict before decision-making and the discomfort afterward.
How To Reduce Cognitive Dissonance
In one study, prenatally exposed adolescent smokers had greater visuospatial memory deficits in conjunction with changes in parahippocampal and hippocampal function compared with adolescent smokers not prenatally exposed (Jacobsen et al., 2006). Brain imaging of adolescent smokers and nonsmokers who were prenatally exposed to smoking has revealed reduced cortical thickness (Toro et al., 2008) and structural alterations in cortical white matter (Jacobsen et al., 2007). These deficits persisted into later adulthood among the male rats, but not the females. Cocaine and nicotine can directly induce one form of synaptic plasticity, the strengthening of neural connections via a process known as long-term potentiation (LTP; see Learning in the Mind and Brain on page 8 and Table 1) (Argilli et al., 2008; Kenney and Gould, 2008). Morphine inhibits LTP of neurons that exhibit inhibitory control of neural activity via the neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) (Nugent and Kauer, 2008). Inhibition of GABA activity could lead to an overall increase in neural activity throughout the brain, which might lead to the formation of stronger associations than would normally occur, including maladaptive drug-context associations.
Science-Based Ways To Apply Positive CBT
Drawing a person’s attention to the dissonance between their behavior and their values may increase their awareness of the inconsistency and empower them to act. A more recent development in the area of managing addictive behaviours is the application of the construct of mindfulness to managing experiences related to craving, negative affect and other emotional states that are believed to impact the process of relapse34. In CBT for addictive behaviours cognitive strategies are supported by several behavioural strategies such as coping skills.
Relapse prevention programmes are based on social cognitive and cognitive behavioural principles. More recent developments in the area of managing addictions include third wave behaviour therapies. Third wave behaviour therapies are focused on improving building awareness, and distress tolerance skills using mindfulness practices. These approaches have shown promise, and more recently the neurobiological underpinnings of mindfulness strategies have been studied.
