托福口语 Task 3

Cognitive dissonance refers to the mental discomfort experienced when a person holds two or more contradictory beliefs, values, or attitudes simultaneously. This discomfort often motivates individuals to reduce the inconsistency by changing their beliefs, acquiring new information, or minimizing the importance of the conflicting cognition. Psychologist Leon Festinger, who introduced the concept, argued that humans strive for internal consistency and will actively avoid situations that increase dissonance. The theory is widely applied in understanding attitude change and decision-making processes.

Professor: Today we’ll talk about a classic example of cognitive dissonance. Imagine a student, Sarah, who strongly believes that smoking is harmful and unhealthy. However, she starts smoking to fit in with her friends. At first, she feels uneasy because her behavior contradicts her belief. To reduce this discomfort, she might change her attitude by telling herself, “Smoking isn’t that bad—many doctors smoke, and my grandfather lived to 90.” Alternatively, she could seek out information that downplays the risks, like reading articles that question the link between smoking and lung cancer. Over time, she may even convince herself that she doesn’t really enjoy smoking but continues because quitting is too hard. This shows how people rationalize their actions to restore internal consistency.