The human psyche often experiences phenomena of internal contradiction, followed by an internal struggle for some semblance of balance or coherence (Hall, 1998). Cognitive dissonance acts as a motivator for people to behave in a way that effectively reduces said dissonance and restores balance. Leon Festinger's theory of cognitive dissonance explores this event and the resulting actions people take to create a balance between their ideals. Cognitive dissonance examines how people combat contradictions in their minds by actively seeking consistency. For his theory, Festinger refers to cognition as a thinking/mental process and dissonance as incoherence. His famous example is that of an addicted smoker who knows that smoking is harmful to his health and is therefore in conflict with himself. The main hypothesis of Festinger's theory consists of two parts; Festinger wrote of the first part of his theory that "The existence of dissonance, being psychologically uncomfortable, will motivate the person to try to reduce dissonance and achieve consonance", and described the second "When dissonance is present, in addition to try to reduce it, the person will actively avoid situations and information that could increase the dissonance" (Festinger, 1957). Festinger delves into the importance an individual places on reducing cognitive dissonance by discussing two essential factors: the value of cognitions and the ratio of cognitions (Festinger, 1957). The first consists of the personal importance or value that the individual places on the opposing cognitions, resulting in less or more dissonance. The latter consists of the proportion of the degree...... average of the paper......nitive dissonance. Retrieved from http://web.mst.edu/~psyworld/cognitive_dissonance.htmFestinger, Leon. (1957). A theory of cognitive dissonance. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. Festinger, Leon. Carlsmith, James M. (1959). Cognitive consequences of forced obedience. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology. 58, 203-210.Waters, Richard D. (2009). Examining the role of cognitive dissonance in crisis fundraising. Public relations review. 35 (June 2), 139-143.Anderson, Eric (2010). “At least with cheating there is an attempt at monogamy”: Cheating and monogamism among college heterosexual men. Journal of social and personal relationships. 27 (November 7), 851-872. Staider, Daniel R. (2012). The role of dissonance, social comparison, and marital status in thinking about divorce. Journal of social and personal relationships. 29 (3 May), 302-323.