Integrating the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) into Cognitive Dissonance Theory Making decisions and following through with them is not always easy; in fact, various industries exist to help people combat these difficulties. The dieting industry promises diets that are easy to stick to, and certain tech companies develop new applications to help us manage our time and follow through with plans. Moreover, the nuances of decision-making have prompted the growth of fields in psychology that are dedicated to developing theories that explain how we make decisions and their relation to our attitudes, relationships, and circumstances. For example, cognitive dissonance theory explains how post-decision dissonance can influence our behavior and attitudes …show more content…
The researchers wanted to examine the justifications that the participants made when intention and outcome was incongruent. Consequently, they found that in the intention-outcome inconsistent group, the participants overestimated secondary factors such as the straightforwardness of the test questions as factors in the outcome. Therefore, showing that individuals might underestimate their perceived control in order to decrease dissonance causes by intention-outcome inconsistency. Interestingly, this was similar to my own experience as well; on the days where I intended to eat healthy but did not behave accordingly, I overestimated situational factors while underestimating my own control. For instance, I would overstate situational factors such as time, stress, or other commitments in order to convince myself that I had never originally intended to follow through with my plans. And these findings are not completely dissimilar to findings about other people’s habits regarding healthy