Running head: COGNITIVE DISSONANCE, FLEXIBILITY AND BELIEF SYSTEMS 1 The Impact of Cognitive Dissonance and Cognitive Flexibility on Belief Systems

Assisting a client to change their belief system has shown to be positively correlated with one’s mental health. Therefore, many therapists might agree that one goal of therapy is for their client to change their own belief systems in order to experience positive change. So then why, when confronted with a new experience or new information, does one individual choose to change their belief system while another does not? To help answer this question, the relationship between cognitive dissonance, cognitive flexibility, and belief systems was investigated. A link between cognitive flexibility, cognitive dissonance, and belief systems was discovered and a model is proposed. Therapists may be interested in this model to gain insight into what might aid their client in the process of belief change. COGNITIVE DISSONANCE, FLEXIBILITY AND BELIEF SYSTEMS 3