In the field of psychology, cognitive dissonance is the mental discomfort (psychological stress) experienced by a person who simultaneously holds two or more contradictory beliefs, ideas, or values. The occurrence of cognitive dissonance is a consequence of a person performing an action that contradicts personal beliefs, ideals, and values; and also occurs when confronted with new information that contradicts said beliefs, ideals, and values.

— Cognitive dissonance: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved from https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_dissonance, Aug 4, 2018.