Interaction South America 2015

Few psychological theories had an impact so clear on UX design as Festinger’s Cognitive Dissonance. 
Cognitive dissonance is the mental stress or discomfort we feel when our behavior is inconsistent with our beliefs. Humans strive for their behavior and beliefs to be consistent, so when inconsistency (dissonance) arises, we do everything we can to restore balance, either by changing our behavior or belief, or by somehow justifying the behavior. Design dissonance occurs when a product or service sends out cognitive signals that run counter to the desired effect. 
Festinger’s basic hypotheses for cognitive dissonance are as follows: 
• The presence of dissonance, of being psychologically uncomfortable, will motivate the person to try to reduce the dissonance and achieve consonance. 
• In addition to trying to reduce dissonance when it is present, the person will actively avoid situations and information that would likely increase it. 
This theory, however, is frequently misused as a recipe. Experience shows that the “eliminate or reduce cognitive dissonance” mantra does not always lead to a better design, and that balance is key to keep users learning, engaged and away from the uncanny valley. 

In this talk, we will illustrate how products can be designed for dissonance and resonance, using actual examples, and elaborate on the nuances of this theory applied to the design of experiences.