• Cognitive dissonance is a state of tension that occurs when a person holds two cognitions (ideas, attitudes, beliefs, opinions) that are psychologically inconsistent with each other.

• Brene Brown Atlas of the Heart p. 81

When we're faced with information that challenges what we believe, our first instinct is to make the discomfort, irritation, and vulnerability go away by resolving the dissonance. We might do this by rejecting the new information, decreasing its importance, or avoiding it altogtehr.

Brene Brown Atlas of the Heart p. 81

Things Aren't What They Seem