cognitive dissonance

n. A state of being made anxious by the incompatibility of two or more ideas, experiences, or perceptions within one's belief structure. This usually occurs when a person is forced by circumstances into the acknowledgment of an inconsistency that has some importance to the individual, who is then motivated to resolve the dissonance. This can be done by reducing the importance of the perceived contradiction in one's understanding of things; altering one's perception of one or both ideas, experiences, or perceptions; or elaboratingjustifica- tions for the contradiction.