Leon Festinger

"The need for self-justification is perhaps the strongest force in human psychology."

"Our actions shape our beliefs as much as our beliefs shape our actions."

"We are motivated to see ourselves in a favorable light, sometimes at the expense of truth."

"The groups we belong to become part of the story we tell about who we are."

"Inconsistency creates tension, and tension motivates change."

"We interpret ambiguous situations in ways that protect our self-image."

"The mind is always at work making sense of experience."

"We will change our beliefs more readily than we will change our self-concept."

"Our sense of identity is constructed through our social relationships."

"The need for meaning is what drives much of human behavior and thought."

"We are all engaged in a constant process of self-justification."

"The human mind seeks consistency above all else."

"Our beliefs about ourselves become the filter through which we see the world."

"The drive to maintain a coherent sense of self is fundamental to human nature."

"We select information that confirms our existing beliefs and reject information that contradicts them."

"The need to justify our actions can lead us to justify almost anything."

"Our social bonds are built on shared interpretations of reality."

"The mind is a storyteller, and the self is the story it tells."

"We are motivated to understand ourselves as good, competent, and rational."

"The discomfort of change comes from the loss of established patterns of meaning."

"Our beliefs are not mere opinions; they are identity commitments."

"We interpret our behavior in ways that support our self-concept."

"The mind abhors the void of meaninglessness."

"We are all seeking confirmation that we are right, good, and in control."

"The way I have come to think about it is that we are all susceptible to the inconsistencies in our own minds."

"People tend to seek out information that confirms what they already believe."

"When a person is faced with a discrepancy between his attitudes and his actions, he seeks to reduce that tension."

"Cognitive dissonance is perhaps the most powerful force in human psychology."

"We are motivated not just by what we want, but by the need to maintain consistency within ourselves."

"The mind will go to great lengths to protect its sense of internal coherence."