This document provides an overview of cognitive dissonance theory, which suggests that people have an inner drive to hold consistent beliefs and attitudes. It discusses three key areas: 1) Forced compliance behavior - When people are forced to do something they don't want to do, it creates dissonance that they seek to reduce, such as by changing their attitude. An experiment found paying $1 caused more dissonance than $20. 2) Decision-making - Making decisions arouses dissonance that people reduce by increasing the attractiveness of their choice and decreasing alternatives. 3) Effort - We value things more if they required effort, so when we exert effort but then feel negative, we