Dissonance is the moment when something no longer fits.
In the Humanet model, dissonance means tension between how a person has functioned so far and what their current reality, values, goals or needs are beginning to require.
What is dissonance?
Dissonance appears when a way of acting, thinking or living starts to lose its fit with the present situation. A person may increasingly feel that “something no longer works”, even if they cannot yet name precisely what needs to change.
This tension may concern relationships, work, goals, values or everyday habits. Dissonance often precedes a more conscious process of change, because it marks the point at which the previous order stops being fully sufficient.
What does this dimension assess?
The dissonance dimension shows to what extent a person experiences growing tension between the current way of functioning and what is becoming necessary.
- the feeling that previous methods or patterns no longer work as before,
- growing tension between what is familiar and what is beginning to be needed,
- the experience of a mismatch between values, goals, needs and reality,
- inner discomfort that can trigger reflection and re-evaluation,
- the first signs that change may be necessary,
- the intensity of tension related to staying in the old way of functioning.
Meaning in the change process
Dissonance is important because it breaks the illusion that the current way of functioning is fully adequate. It does not yet give a ready answer, but it creates the internal pressure needed for a person to begin asking different questions.
At the same time, dissonance should not be confused with change itself. Without further work—recognising barriers, making decisions and testing new actions—tension may only accumulate and turn into frustration or paralysis.