# 49. Manipulation of bias and heuristics in decision making ## 49.5. Methodology/Refinements/Sub-species ### 49.5.9. Cognitive dissonance Cognitive dissonance is a term used in psychology to describe the feeling of discomfort when simultaneously holding two or more conflicting ideas, beliefs, values or emotional reactions. Cognitive dissonance is one of the most influential and extensively studied theories in social psychology. In a state of dissonance, people may sometimes feel a sense of "disequilibrium", which may manifest itself as uneasiness, frustration, dread, guilt, anger, embarrassment, anxiety, etc. It is often experienced by cult followers when a long predicted apocalyptic event does not happen. The sense of great expectation followed by total disappointment creates a cognitive dissonance. This dissonance may cause the victims to behave in different ways. In our cult example, the disappointed may find theological reasons to explain the non-event, perhaps claiming to have been spared. The initial disappointment may thus make them more fervent in their belief. Others may leave the cult and look for alternative explanations to calm their feelings of discontent. The theory of cognitive dissonance in social psychology proposes that people have a motivational drive to reduce dissonance by altering existing cognitions, adding new ones to create a consistent belief system, or, alternatively, reducing the importance of any one of the dissonant elements. A manipulator may use a sense of cognitive dissonance in a victim to persuade them to alter or drop a particular opinion, or to behave in a certain way. For instance, someone can be encouraged to take professional short-cuts at work because "getting the job done is more important than breaking the rules a little".