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Related Concept Videos

Cognitive Dissonance01:38

Cognitive Dissonance

Social psychologists have documented that feeling good about ourselves and maintaining positive self-esteem is a powerful motivator of human behavior (Tavris & Aronson, 2008). In the United States, members of the predominant culture typically think very highly of themselves and view themselves as good people who are above average on many desirable traits (Ehrlinger, Gilovich, & Ross, 2005). Often, our behavior, attitudes, and beliefs are affected when we experience a threat to our...
False Memories01:18

False Memories

False memories represent a cognitive distortion in which individuals recall events that did not happen, or remember them in an altered form. This phenomenon highlights the brain's constructive nature in processing and recalling memories, emphasizing that memory is not a perfect representation of past events but rather a dynamic reconstruction influenced by various factors.
One primary source of false memories is misattribution, where individuals incorrectly associate external information with...
Self-Discrepancy and Its Effects01:29

Self-Discrepancy and Its Effects

Self-discrepancy theory explains how people compare their actual self to their ideal and ought selves and how mismatches between these self-guides can lead to emotional distress. Developed by E. Tory Higgins, the theory distinguishes among three components of self-concept: the actual self, the ideal self, and the ought self. These refer respectively to how individuals perceive themselves, how they aspire to be, and how they believe they are obligated to be. Emotional well-being, self-esteem,...
Self-Discrepancy Theory02:45

Self-Discrepancy Theory

One influential perspective on what motivates people's behavior is detailed in Tory Higgin's self-discrepancy theory (Higgins, 1987). He proposed that people hold disagreeing internal representations of themselves that lead to different emotional states.
Understanding Deception01:14

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Deception is a pervasive aspect of human communication. Empirical studies have shown that most individuals engage in some form of deceit on a daily basis, with approximately 20% of social exchanges involving deceptive elements. Lying follows a developmental trajectory, peaking during adolescence and declining with age, possibly due to the maturation of cognitive control and social accountability.Cognitive and Social Factors in Deception DetectionDespite its prevalence, accurately detecting...
Self-Serving Bias01:29

Self-Serving Bias

Self-serving bias is a cognitive phenomenon in which individuals attribute positive outcomes to internal factors such as their abilities, intelligence, or effort while attributing negative outcomes to external circumstances. This cognitive distortion helps maintain self-esteem but can also impede objective self-assessment.Theoretical Explanations of Self-Serving BiasTwo primary theories explain the self-serving bias: the cognitive explanation and the motivational explanation.The cognitive...

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An Experimental Analysis of Children's Ability to Provide a False Report about a Crime
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Published on: May 3, 2016

A note on cognitive dissonance and malingering.

Harald Merckelbach1, Thomas Merten

  • 1Forensic Psychology Section, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands. H.Merckelbach@maastrichtuniversity.nl

The Clinical Neuropsychologist
|August 30, 2012
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Malingered symptoms can become real through cognitive dissonance, the psychological discomfort from holding conflicting beliefs. This theory explains how feigned symptoms may escalate into genuine, compelling physical sensations.

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Published on: January 31, 2017

Area of Science:

  • Psychology
  • Psychiatry
  • Cognitive Science

Background:

  • Malingering, the intentional production of false symptoms, is a diagnostic challenge.
  • Medically unexplained symptoms (MUS) often overlap with malingering.
  • Cognitive dissonance, the mental discomfort from conflicting beliefs, is a key psychological mechanism.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To propose that cognitive dissonance can explain the internalization of malingered symptoms.
  • To explore the relevance of cognitive dissonance for malingering research.
  • To clarify how ambiguous sensations may become compelling symptoms.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review of self-deception and malingering.
  • Analysis of clinical notions on malingering and MUS.
  • Application of cognitive dissonance theory to malingering.

Main Results:

  • Cognitive dissonance offers a framework for understanding how malingered symptoms become internalized.
  • The theory helps explain the escalation of ambiguous sensations into subjectively compelling symptoms.
  • Malingered symptom reports are not merely evaluation complications but potential research avenues.

Conclusions:

  • Cognitive dissonance is highly relevant for research on malingering.
  • This perspective clarifies the process of symptom internalization.
  • It opens new research avenues and addresses practical clinical issues.