Personal Narrative Dissonance Theory

In high school, I knew I would have to take AP biology in order to get credit for my premedical requirements in college. I signed up for the course fully understanding the hard work that I would need to put in and the amount of time I would be spending each day to maintain a good grade in the course. I had this attitude of determination in doing well in this class up until the second semester of the class. I had begun to notice my work in the class begin to lower in the effort, even though I swore I was putting the same amount of effort in. My grades were lower than what I was expecting and it would make me upset to think that I felt as though I was really trying in this class, yet my grades aren’t reflecting all my hard work. As time passed by, and this kept happening over and over again, I began to have changes in my attitude. I began to realize that it is ok if I don’t get an A in the course or if I get a C on the test. My attitude changed when I decided that I shouldn’t take the AP exam even though that was my goal in the beginning of the year.
When my grades began to lower in my classes and I began to engage in behaviors that wasn’t as hardworking as I thought they were, I experienced this discomfort and anxiety that my attitude of doing well wasn’t reciprocated by the work that I was presenting. I began to make excuses for the decisions that I made when deciding not to take the AP exam and when deciding to focus more on my other classes. I began making more consonant decisions and thoughts in order to lower the dissonance that I was feeling. I had created new consonant cognitions when deciding that it was a college level class and deciding that it was ok if I didn’t do well in the class at that time. My actions reflect ways to reduce cognitive