Cindy Harmon Jones is a social psychologist whose work has understandings of human thought and behavior. Her research focuses on discrete emotions — including anger, sadness, disgust, and humility — and how these states influence cognition, motivation, and social interaction. She is also a leading scholar of cognitive dissonance. Together with Eddie Harmon Jones, she developed the action based model of dissonance, a framework that emphasizes the role of action readiness in the experience and resolution of dissonance. This model has been influential in shifting the field’s understanding of why dissonance feels uncomfortable and how people engage in cognitive work to reduce it. Harmon Jones earned her PhD in social psychology from Texas A&M University in 2011. She is currently a lecturer at Western Sydney University, where she teaches and continues to investigate emotions and motivation. Across her career, Harmon Jones has contributed to a deeper understanding of how emotions prepare people to act and how internal conflict can become a catalyst for change.