Cognitive Dissonance: Why We Lie to Ourselves
The cognitive dissonance theory was coined by Leon Festinger (1957). Festinger suggests that our thoughts can show three relationships:
justification
8 Psychological Mechanisms that Enable People to Hurt Others (The Psychology of Evilness)
It seems like most people are capable of doing harm to others, as shown in Stanley Milgram’s obedience experiment. However, self-reports have also revealed that obeying to hurt others may lead to feelings of anxiety, guilt and agitation.