托福口语 Task 3

In psychology, the concept of 'cognitive dissonance' refers to the mental discomfort experienced when a person holds two or more contradictory beliefs, values, or attitudes. This discomfort often leads individuals to alter their beliefs or rationalize their actions to reduce the inconsistency. For example, if someone values health but smokes, they may downplay the risks of smoking to ease the tension. Cognitive dissonance is a powerful motivator for attitude change and self-justification.

Professor: Let me give you a real-world example. A student, Sarah, strongly believes that she is an honest person. One day, she finds a wallet with a large amount of cash on the street. She knows she should return it, but she is tempted to keep it because she needs money for a trip. After a few minutes, she decides to keep the money. To reduce her discomfort, she tells herself that the owner probably doesn't need the cash—after all, they might be rich. She also thinks that if she had dropped the wallet, she would want someone to return it, but she convinces herself that in this big city, the wallet would likely be stolen anyway. By rationalizing these thoughts, Sarah reduces the conflict between her belief in honesty and her dishonest behavior.