Which theory explains the motivation to reduce discomfort when attitudes and actions are inconsistent?

• A. Attitude
• B. Conformity
• C. Cognitive Dissonance Theory
• D. Fundamental Attribution Error

Answer: (C)

When attitudes clash with actions, people feel cognitive dissonance—a psychological discomfort that arises from holding two or more inconsistent beliefs, values, or behaviors. The way to ease that uneasy state is to reduce the inconsistency, which can happen by changing what we believe, changing what we do, or justifying the behavior to make it feel less conflicting. This motivation to restore harmony between thoughts and actions is exactly what cognitive dissonance theory describes. For example, someone who values honesty but tells a lie might convince themselves the lie was harmless or decide to tell the truth next time to realign their beliefs with their behavior. The other options don’t capture this internal drive to resolve inconsistency: an attitude is just a personal evaluation, conformity is about changing behavior to fit others, and the fundamental attribution error concerns how we explain others’ behavior rather than our own discomfort from internal conflict.