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KEY TERM ASSIGNMENT 1
Research Project: Key Term Assignment
BUSI240: Organizational Behavior I
Megan Carol Holdridge
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KEY TERM ASSIGNMENT 2
Abstract
Feeling detached from one’s own decisions can produce confusion, feeling hypocritical,
and begging the question “did I make the right decision.” Cognitive dissonance can be
experienced in one’s personal, and professional life. Understanding what cognitive dissonance is
and how it might impact your professional life will help one gain control of the emotions they
might experience when a big decision is made.
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KEY TERM ASSIGNMENT 3
What is Cognitive Dissonance?
Cognitive dissonance is an emotional experience caused by a perception that our beliefs,
feelings, and behavior are incongruent with one another. (McShane, pg.127). Think of a Project
Manager who realizes the project is over budget for what a vendor has requested. A decision
must be made to either go back to the vendor and ask for a budget increase or find an alternative
way to bring down the cost. The Project Manager chooses to ask for a budget increase because
they know for the project to be successful, more money must be allocated. The Project Manger
knows this is the right decision but feels this goes against their inherent beliefs about
overspending. “Cognitive dissonance occurs when our behaviors and beliefs conflict.”
(McShane, pg. 127)
Experiencing Cognitive Dissonance
Continuing with the Project Manager example, once the “dissonance” (uncomfortable
state) sets in, one is motivated to change either the behavior, or the emotions they are feeling.
With our Project Manager, the decision cannot be changed, the budget increase has taken place.
The Project Manager must change their beliefs and feelings about the increase. They can
remember times where other projects were well under budget, or why a budget increase is
necessary in this case; they can “discover positive features of the decision they didn’t notice
earlier.” (McShane, pg.127)
Cognitive Dissonance in the Workplace
Employees can experience dissonance in their workplace in numerous ways. When their
personal values conflict with organizational values, working a stigmatized job, team/supervisor
disagreement, and even what an employee is paid versus the market rate for the job. Hinojosa
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KEY TERM ASSIGNMENT 4
wanted to understand the implications for management in terms of cognitive dissonance. Her
team decided to conduct a study of articles from the year 2000 onward referencing cognitive
dissonance in various workplaces. In one of their studies, Erdogan, Kraimer, and Linden, found
that teachers who experienced “value incongruence” meaning their values did not align with the
organizations, which caused lower job and career satisfaction. An employee might begin to
question is this career for me, am I going against my personal values by allowing what my
employers values, will I promote if my values do not align?
Employees also experience dissonance in leadership. When a new leader is introduced
either from an outside source, or from elsewhere in a company the employee can only go off the
preconceived notion of what a leader should be since they are unfamiliar. “Followers’ values and
attitudes shaped by the dissonance in perceived leadership styles will have an impact on
followers’ behavioral outcomes such as employee engagement.” (Mariappanadar, 2018).
Cognitive Dissonance for the Believer
Much like our employee and teacher examples from above, believers can also experience
cognitive dissonance within leaders in the church and their faith alone. A great example of
cognitive dissonance for a believer is when they experience a large trial. If a believer were to be
diagnosed with cancer, they might take the actions of praying consistently, being in devotion
daily, and surrounding themselves with other believers. But they could be questioning why God
would allow this to happen to them or is he hearing the prayers. Believers can find refuge in the
story of Job. Everything was stricken from him – is own wife had stated for him curse God for
all he had suffered. In Job chapter 3 verse 3 he curses the day of his birth and states “May the
day of my birth perish, and the night that said, “a boy is conceived!” (Life.Church, 2008) He
never cursed God in all the trials he experienced. Job fought his dissonance by remembering the
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KEY TERM ASSIGNMENT 5
word of the Lord. He was surrounded by a friend who reminded him the ways of the Lord. Ways
believers can fight dissonance of their faith is to remember the times that the Lord has intervened
in life, be surrounded with those who encourage your faith and pray with you. Believers can also
cry out to the Lord and have him hear your anguish and sorrow.
Believers can also experience dissonance with leaders in their church. This can occur
when pastors and leaders are preaching on specific behaviors or leading a righteous lifestyle
when behind closed doors, they are leading an entirely different life. The congregation will then
feel disconnected, distrusting, and confused. They will begin to pull back in attendance from
Sunday services and life groups etc. Once they experience the dissonance, they can remember
they are in church to put their faith in God and not within the leaders of the church. They can call
on God in prayer and remember verses such as Mark 11:24 “Therefore I tell you, whatever you
ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” (Life.Church, 2008)
How to Combat Cognitive Dissonance
There are ways one can reduce the cognitive dissonance they are experiencing. “People
can reduce cognitive dissonance by changing their feelings and beliefs.” (McShane, pg. 127) One
can shift their mindset to focus on the positives on the decision. Also, emphasis can be added on
previous decisions to help one be okay with the current one. Ultimately, “decision makers want
their choices to be consistent with their beliefs and feelings. (McShane, pg. 251) It is also helpful
to be mindful, knowing when cognitive dissonance is being experienced; recognizing it is half
the battle and using the techniques can reduce experiencing cognitive dissonance in your
personal and professional life.
Conclusion
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KEY TERM ASSIGNMENT 6
Cognitive dissonance is an emotional experience caused by a perception that our beliefs,
feelings, and behavior are incongruent with one another. (McShane, pg.127). It can happen in our
personal and professional lives when we are feeling detached from a decision or others. It is
important to recognize when you are experiencing cognitive dissonance that way you can combat
it through changing your mindset, and creating positive beliefs.
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KEY TERM ASSIGNMENT 7
References
McShane, S. L., & Von Glinow, M. (2021). Organizational behavior: Emerging
knowledge, global reality (9th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education.
Bible. Life.Church, version 9.10, 2008.
Hinojosa, A., Gardner, W., Gullifor, D. (2016) “A Review of Cognitive Dissonance
Theory in Management Research: Opportunities for Further Development.” (Vol. 43, Issu 1).
https://journals-sagepub-com.ezproxy.liberty.edu/doi/full/10.1177/0149206316668236?
utm_source=summon&utm_medium=discovery-provider&#bibr28-0149206316668236
Mariappanadar, S. (2018) “The Impact of Dissonance in Schema Based Leadership
Perceptions on Employee Engagement.” https://www-emerald-
com.ezproxy.liberty.edu/insight/content/doi/10.1108/PR-03-2017-0081/full/html
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KEY TERM ASSIGNMENT 8
