Cognitive dissonance: how to advise students who are set in their choices

“I want to study engineering.” 

The student’s last semester grades are in front of us. His mathematics grade is a 2 (a D).

“Peter, with your current mathematics grade, unfortunately you wouldn’t be eligible to apply for engineering courses. Why don’t we look at history, where you’re doing so well? Would you consider something related to this?”

“I’m going to study engineering or computer science.”

I intuit that no amount of further discussion will be particularly productive, so we compromise. We identify applications with later deadlines to wait for his next set of grades: an opportunity to prove himself again. 

Three months pass. Peter and I sit with his new grades in front of us. His mathematics is still a 2.

“Shall we now look at history courses?”

“I’ll do better in the finals. I don’t want to study history and I really want to do engineering.”

I ask him the motivation behind this desire. I show him the past three semesters’ worth of mathematics grades. I provide him with the details of a university engineering curriculum. Peter is undeterred. 

This situation leaves me wondering: why do some students remain stubborn, even in the face of clear evidence? And what can we as counsellors do about this? 

Cognitive dissonance: an introduction 

We can find a possible answer in psychology. A psychologist called Leon Festinger coined the phrase “cognitive dissonance” in the 1950s after observing an intriguing phenomenon: a cult holding an apocalyptic vision of the world. The Seekers cult firmly believed that the world would end with a catastrophic flood, and that benevolent aliens would save them. 

The appointed date arrived, and neither the great flood nor the UFO materialised. How would the cult members react then? Festinger examined their next courses of action, which became the basis of cognitive-dissonance theory.

These findings can be applied to situations where people display conflicting beliefs, attitudes or behaviours – like our student earlier. 

Let’s first identify the contrasting elements in the two cases above, and then look at the subsequent courses of action. 

In the case of the cult, their original belief was: “The world will end and we will be saved by benevolent aliens.” The contrasting belief was: “The world has not ended and benevolent aliens do not exist.”

In the case of Peter, he holds one belief: “Engineering is a fitting path for me.” His mathematics grade and the course entry requirements present him with another belief: “Engineering is not a fitting path for me.” 

(Another classic example of cognitive dissonance is smoking. When a smoker encounters evidence that smoking is bad for his health but still is driven to keep smoking, what does he do?)

Actions following cognitive dissonance 

Individuals take different steps to alleviate the discomfort of holding conflicting beliefs in their mind. They can change, justify, ignore or minimise the importance placed on the contrasting belief, attitude or action.  

1. Change one of the contrasting elements

The obvious course of action here is to change one of the beliefs or actions in conflict. In the case of the cult members, they could decide to believe that there is no impending apocalypse and that benevolent aliens don’t exist. In the case of Peter, he can believe that engineering isn’t a good fit for him after all. However, this is a difficult – and therefore rarely taken – course of action.

2. Justify the belief or behaviour by adding to or changing the belief 

A more common path is that one can justify one’s belief by modifying it or adding new beliefs. For instance, many of the cult members chose to believe that their collective faith had saved the world from destruction (change the belief), and that the apocalypse was spiritual, rather than literal (add to the belief). 

Peter saying that he will do better in the finals is a form of sticking to the belief that engineering is a good fit for him: he is justifying it with a new belief that he will prove himself in the future. 

3. Ignore information that conflicts with existing beliefs 

One can also just ignore the information at hand. You may wonder how anyone can ignore clear evidence, but science shows that the way humans deal with information can be quite selective. The phenomenon of confirmation bias illustrates this: a person will favour and recall information in a way that supports their view of the world. 

4. Minimise importance

Finally, to reduce discomfort, one can minimise the importance placed on a belief. This way, even though the contrast remains, the discomfort is alleviated, because the individual is less invested in it. 

This step isn’t mutually exclusive to the others. If a student decides that studying engineering is not so important to them, then they may be more open to changing their mind. 

How counsellors can help with cognitive dissonance in students 

The key difference between the cult’s cognitive dissonance and our students’ is that we as counsellors can support students through the process. What can we do to help?

1. Acknowledge the belief and validate the student’s success

The student’s passion for engineering should be acknowledged – which is different from affirming it. Establishing the common goal at hand – the student’s success – can be a good conversation opener. For example, try a simple: “I understand that you really want to study engineering. I’m here to support your future success.” 

2. Provide a reality check and encourage self-reflection

Acknowledging the belief and validating the student’s success does not mean we necessarily agree with it. We can provide a reality check to the student by providing data and anecdotes. Entry requirements, average scores of admitted students and stories of regrets can serve this purpose. 

This is a good time to encourage self-reflection. What does the student think about the reality check? 

3. Acknowledge potential emotional distress

Before going in deeper, you can also acknowledge the distress that comes from the dissonance. You don’t have to be a social-emotional counsellor to do this – just saying something along the lines of “I know it’s tough seeing the entry requirements that are higher than your current grades now” can help lead to the next conversation. 

4. Challenge presumptions 

The next step could be asking the reasoning behind the belief. Why is studying engineering important and attractive? Whether it’s the perceived employability, a close family member in the industry or an inspiring movie scene, understanding this can deepen your understanding of the student and the conversation. 

If possible, challenge myths underlying the reason, and enlist the help of others who can vouch for your message from a different angle. 

5. Introduce alternative beliefs 

Clearly the solution to the student’s dilemma could be alternative options of study. What strengths should you emphasise or what alternative future paths can you present to the student? 

If the student does not want to switch the belief (as in Peter’s case), then you can consider the nuances. For instance, if the student is set on pursuing engineering, could you show how there are jobs related to engineering that don’t require maths (engineering management, technical writing, UX design, regulatory compliance – ask AI).

6. Facilitate strategic goal revision 

Our role is to help students plan their future, and thinking about strategic goals – such as a broader study option – can leave room for exploration later. 

Solution for Peter’s situation 

With Peter, I identified foundation courses in Australia where the entry requirements were not particularly stringent. Some specialised in STEM, but others were broad enough that Peter could potentially change his mind about his course of study while at university.