Cognitive Dissonance Theory suggests a change in attitude may occur to:

Cognitive Dissonance Theory, proposed by Leon Festinger, posits that individuals experience discomfort or tension when they hold conflicting beliefs, attitudes, or engage in behaviors that contradict their beliefs. To alleviate this discomfort, they are motivated to change one of the conflicting elements.

In this context, the option that suggests a change in attitude may occur to align with inconsistent behavior is accurate because when a person's actions do not match their beliefs, cognitive dissonance arises. For example, if someone values health but smokes cigarettes, this inconsistency creates psychological discomfort. To resolve this dissonance, the individual might change their attitude towards smoking (perhaps by minimizing its perceived risks) or modify their behavior (by quitting smoking).

The other options, while related to social psychology and human behavior, do not directly address the core premise of how cognitive dissonance functions. For instance, fitting with social expectations or conforming to communal beliefs involves external influences rather than the internal conflict inherent in cognitive dissonance. Similarly, assimilating new information can lead to changes in beliefs, but it does not specifically capture the self-driven adjustment that occurs in response to dissonance between beliefs and actions. Hence, the most accurate representation of cognitive dissonance involves aligning attitudes