Julie recently joined a youth center as a counselor who provides support services for teenage mothers. An important part of her job involves referring pregnant teenagers to abortion clinics, should they decide to avail of such services. This aspect of her work, however, conflicts with her religious beliefs. Her manager, Kyle, is aware of this and expects her to submit her resignation at any time, but Julie continues to carry out her duties in a sincere manner and shows no signs of quitting her job. Which of the following best explains this situation?

A) Julie allows her professional life to be dictated by her religious ideals.
B) Julie refuses to acknowledge the hard truths of life.
C) Julie has accepted that people have the freedom of choice.
D) Julie is unable to empathize with the teenagers who visit the youth center.
E) Julie does not realize the importance of her work to society.

C
Explanation: C) In the case of cognitive dissonance, research has generally concluded that people seek consistency among their attitudes and between their attitudes and their behavior. In this scenario, Julie achieves this consistency by acknowledging the fact that people have the freedom of choice and this allows her to carry on working at the youth center. If Julie allowed her professional life to be dictated by her religious ideals or did not understand the importance of her work to society, then she would most likely not continue working at the center. Similarly, if she refused to acknowledge the hard truths of life or was unable to empathize with the teenagers who visited the youth center, then she would be more likely to resign.