Maria sees a leather coat in a department store and purchases it immediately even though it is expensive. Before purchasing, she experiences inner tension that she may be able to purchase the same coat for a lesser price in another store. This inner tension is an example of .

cognitive dissonance

Explanation:

Cognitive dissonance occurs when an individual pursues more than one contradictory value, idea, or belief. This leads to stress as the person is form between multiple choices.

For example a HR manager is responsible for staff welfare and also owes allegiance to the management. If management is carrying out a policy that has adverse effect on staff the HRanager will be torn between conflicting beliefs.

In this case although Maria purchased the coat at higher price she experiences tension because she would have purchased it at lower price somewhere else.