© 2016 Akhilesh Chandra Pandey and Mohit Jamwal. This open access article is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 3.0 license. Journal of Social Sciences Original Research Paper Realizing the Impact of Cognitive Dissonance in Predicting Consumer Behaviour Akhilesh Chandra Pandey and Mohit Jamwal HNB Garhwal University, Srinagar Garhwal, Uttarakhand, India Article history Received: 10-03-2015 Revised: 11-05-2015 Accepted: 05-06-2015 Corresponding Author: Mohit Jamwal HNB Garhwal University, Srinagar Garhwal, Uttarakhand, India Email: mohit.jamwal88@rediffmail.com Abstract: Consumer psychology has always been the centre of concern for the marketers from the old time and understanding the underlying aspects leads to effective decision making. The present study elicits the concept of post purchase cognitive dissonance in the consumers and embraces its implications in studying the consumer behaviour. A survey was conducted and well framed questionnaire was constructed covering various dimensions of variables studied. Some of the underlying dimensions of cognitive dissonance have been rigorously discussed and statistically tested in this study. Specifically, the impact of product involvement, time taken to make a purchase decision and level of information search on the cognitive dissonance have been analysed that provides really significant benefits to the marketers. Keywords: Cognitive Dissonance, Consumer Psychology, Post Purchase Dissonance Introduction Understanding Consumer Behaviour is a significant approach in every marketing strategy of a firm and therefore, a comprehensive examination of the various dimensions and aspects has to be done for the organisation’s success. Although, enough care has to be taken in strategy implementation at each step, various marketers are even more worried about the post consumption phase of the product or service. This is the time when the consumers’ show their like/dislike for the product and lead to patronage towards the product and the company. One such dimension which impacts the patronage or repurchase is the level of consonance or dissonance developed towards the purchase. The dissonance may be developed in pre-decisional phase in the consumer’s decision making process due to the various forgone competitor’s product features against in the purchased ones (Koller and Salzberger, 2007) or in the post purchase phase due to the disconfirmation of initial expectations about the product. This leads to stage of cognitive dissonance which comes in existence when a consumer become confused on the two beliefs held by him that cannot exist together and creates a psychological discomfort for him. The resulting discomfort motivates the individual to reduce the tension already developed by some means. This refers to the one of the social psychology’s greatest theories known as the Theory of Cognitive dissonance (Festinger, 1957). Dissonance is mainly experienced by three main means: Firstly if there is any logical inconsistency exists in the consumer’s mind. Secondly, if there is disagreement between two different attitudes or behaviours. Thirdly, dissonance may also occur after disconfirmation of a strongly held belief (Loudon, 1993). Now if dissonance arises, a person feels uncomfortable and finds ways to reduce this psychological discomfort. There are several ways in which the consumer strives to reduce dissonance. First, he may change his evaluation of alternative. Second, he may seek new information to support his choice and thirdly, he may change his attitudes. Therefore, the personal characteristics of the customer may have a significant impact on the post- purchase behaviour due to the dynamic psychological changes incur in their minds (evaluation of products). Literature Review Human mind always have a curiosity to assess the value generated after the consumption of a product or a service. Senses of contradicting thoughts are generated in consumer’s mind that evaluates the features of product purchased and the foregone competitor’s offering benefits. These persuasions keep on striking in the consumer’s mind, make him unwell and rethink about the purchase whether it was a wise or poor decision (Kassarjian and Cohen, 1965). Consumer decision making process involves various steps and depending upon the involvement of the product, a customer performs activities at all the steps or