Based on this intellectual tradition, Festinger was able to predict the magnitude of dissonance in different situations. Leon Festinger first proposed the theory of cognitive dissonance, centered on how people try to https://ecosoberhouse.com/ reach internal consistency. He suggested that people have an inner need to ensure that their beliefs and behaviors are consistent. Inconsistent or conflicting beliefs lead to disharmony, which people strive to avoid.
To deal with the feelings of discomfort then, they might find some way of rationalizing the conflicting cognition. For instance, they may justify their sedentary behavior by saying that their other healthy behaviors—like eating sensibly and occasionally exercising—make up for their largely sedentary lifestyle. Once a choice has been made, however, people need to find a way to reduce these feelings of discomfort. We accomplish this by justifying why our choice was the best option so we can believe that we made the right decision. In Hafer and Gosse (2010), we discuss a number of potential situational determinants of how people defend BJW in the face of threat. Finally, many of the studies supporting the theory of cognitive dissonance have low ecological validity.
Experimentation in social psychology
Sometimes when patients engage in a new, more constructive behavior, they can perceive dissonance simply because it is contrary to the way they used to act. Providing the space and time to understand their new behavior and justifying it can help to reduce the dissonance. Therapists aim to help their patients by understanding and changing their attitudes, emotions, or behaviors. Since cognitive dissonance often naturally occurs after a decision such as a purchase, this is what questionnaires have focused on. Cognitive dissonance was measured indirectly by asking participants about changes in their opinion about how enjoyable the task was following the experiment. In fact, it is a psychological mechanism that helps us perceive our world (and our place in it) consistently.
However, it can be beneficial to remind ourselves that it exists as a psychological safety mechanism to help us perceive the world consistently and to protect the perception we have about ourselves. When Festinger (1957) proposed cognitive dissonance theory, the behaviorist perspective and reinforcement theory (e.g., Skinner 1938) were influential in how theorists thought about human behavior. According to the behaviorist perspective, people are motivated to hold particular attitudes and behave in certain ways to gain positive reinforcement and avoid punishment. It is possible to resolve cognitive dissonance by either changing one’s behavior or changing one’s beliefs so they are consistent with each other. When one learns new information that challenges a deeply held belief, for example, or acts in a way that seems to undercut a favorable self-image, that person may feel motivated to somehow resolve the negative feeling that results—to restore cognitive consonance.
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
The concept of cognitive dissonance is nicely explained in this YouTube video by social psychologist Andy Luttrell. The people around us have a stronger influence on our decisions and actions than we realize. By using these types of explanations, the smoker is able to reduce the dissonance and continue the unhealthy behavior. People like to believe that they are logical, consistent, and good at making decisions.
- First, the person could remove the dissonant cognition by either changing his behaviour (stop smoking) or knowledge (believe that smoking is actually not bad for health).
- Being paid only $1 is not sufficient incentive for lying and so those who were paid $1 experienced dissonance.
- As a classic result in dissonance studies, they were also expected to report more positive attitudes toward the counterattitudinal topic.
- As a result of wanting to resolve the mental conflict of cognitive dissonance, people might either change their behavior or ignore information that goes against their desires and goals.
After reading the reports about the various products, individuals rated the products again. When the participants were asked to evaluate the experiment, the participants who were paid only $1 rated the tedious task as more fun and enjoyable than the participants who were paid $20 to lie. They were then paid either $1 or $20 to tell a waiting participant (a confederate) that the tasks were really interesting. Almost all of the participants agreed to walk into the waiting room and persuade the confederate that the boring experiment would be fun. In their laboratory experiment, they used 71 male students as participants to perform a series of dull tasks (such as turning pegs in a peg board for an hour).
On the Characteristics of the Cognitive Dissonance State: Exploration Within the Pleasure Arousal Dominance Model
When someone tells a lie and feels uncomfortable about it because he fundamentally sees himself as an honest person, he may be experiencing cognitive dissonance. That is, there is mental discord related to a contradiction between one thought (in this case, knowing he did something wrong) and another (thinking that he is honest). Changing the conflicting cognition is one of the most effective ways of dealing with dissonance but it is also one of the most difficult—particularly in the case of deeply held values and beliefs, such as religious or political leanings. This is particularly true if the disparity between their beliefs and behaviors involves something that is central to their sense of self. When faced with two similar choices, we are often left with feelings of dissonance because both options are equally appealing.
It was mentioned that their essay could be as long as they wished and that they could inspire themselves with the provided list of quotations if needed. Participants had no time limit to write their essay and it was emphasized that the content of their essay was the main focus of the research. Cognitive dissonance occurs when a person’s behavior and beliefs do not complement each other or when they hold two contradictory beliefs. It causes a feeling of discomfort that motivates people to try to feel better.