Question

Deborah has always wanted to go to college at Stanford. She applied but was not accepted to Stanford; however, she was accepted at U.C. Berkeley. At first, she was crushed, but then, she started telling all her teachers and friends that U.C. Berkeley is a far more interesting school. Her statement reflects ____.

Answer 1

Answer:

Her resolution to cognitive dissonance.

Explanation:

In psychology, cognitive dissonance is the mental discomfort experienced by a person who holds two or more contradictory beliefs, ideas, or values.

This discomfort is triggered by a situation in which a person's belief clashes with new evidence perceived by the person. When this happens and people are confronted with facts that contradict beliefs, ideals, and values, people will try to find a way to resolve the contradiction to reduce their discomfort.

In this example, Deborah always wanted to go to college at Stanford, however she wasn't accepted there and got accepted at U.C Berkeley, at first she was crushed (experiencing cognitive dissonance) since she wasn't accepted to the school she wanted to attend but as time when by she started telling teachers and friends that U.C Berkeley was actually more interesting than Stanford.

We can see that she found a way to resolve the contradiction to reduce her discomfort and thus, this statement reflects a resolution to the cognitive dissonance she was experiencing.