Why does making a decision tend to generate dissonance, how is ...

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Why does making a decision tend to generate dissonance, how is this dissonance reduced, and under what conditions is postdecisional dissonance reduction the greatest?
 
  What will be an ideal response?

Question 2

As Nina lights up her fifteenth cigarette of the day, she glances at the Surgeon General's warning on the package and shrugs, thinking
 
  Eh, cancer is for old people, and not only do I have good genes, the research on cigarettes causing cancer is inconclusive. It is unlikely that Nina will change her behavior and quit smoking unless
   a. she gets out of the self-justification cycle.
   b. she is diagnosed with cancer herself.
   c. a close family member is diagnosed with lung cancer.
   d. she can no longer add cognitions.

[abctaiwan]

Answer to Question 1

Answer: There are seldom any decisions in which the chosen alternative is completely positive and the rejected alternative is completely negative; there are typically downsides to the chosen alternative and upsides to the rejected alternative. Choosing something with downsides and rejecting something with upsides generates cognitive dissonance. We work to reduce this dissonance by convincing ourselves that the chosen alternative is better than it was before we made the decision and that the rejected alternative is worse than it was before we made the decision. These distortions are more common when decisions are permanent and freely chosen.

Answer to Question 2

Answer: A