An introduction to cognitive dissonance theory 7 in the first experiment designed to test these theoretical ideas, aronson and mills 1959 had women undergo a severe or mild initiation to become. Cognitive dissonance communication oxford bibliographies. It is based on past experience and is accessed to guide current understanding or action. Cognitive dissonance is the psychological discomfort that we feel when our minds entertain two contradictory concepts at the same time. Jul 10, 2019 the text also discusses the role of choice, the magnitude of dissonance, personality variables, and the strategy of rejecting the communicator to resolve dissonance.
Cognitive dissonance theory cognitive dissonance theory. Vicarious dissonance is a novel approach at the nexus of two wellestablished theories in social psychology. Cognitive dissonance theory has generally been used with atrisk women, and outside of the school setting. The theory of cognitive dissonance proposes that people have a motivational drive to reduce dissonance by changing their attitudes, beliefs and behaviors, or by justifying or rationalizing them. Festinger also made important contributions to the study of group behaviour, selfevaluation, and attitude change. The cognitive dissonance theory was first tested by festinger and carlsmith 1959 in a laboratory experiment. Cognitive dissonance is a term for the state of discomfort felt when two or more modes of thought contradict each other. The cognitive dissonance theory and its function in public. Motivational processes were combined with cognitive processes in minitheories, which indicate reminiscent of dissonance theory in 1980s aronson, 1992. Oct 21, 2019 cognitive dissonance is a theory in social psychology.
The term cognitive dissonance is used to describe the mental discomfort that results from holding two conflicting beliefs, values, or attitudes. The whole set of dissonance studies would require accepting a tremendous variety of alternative explanations, whereas dissonance theory alone explains a large subset of them 1966, p. Festingers 1957 cognitive dissonance theory suggests that we have an inner drive to. He disagreed with the idea that intelligence was a fixed trait, and regarded cognitive development as a process which occurs due to biological maturation and interaction with the environment. Cognitive dissonance is a theory of psychology that translates into thought conflict. He disagreed with the idea that intelligence was a fixed trait, and regarded cognitive development as a process which occurs due to biological maturation and. Cognitive dissonance may also occur when people seek to explain or justify their.
In the case of the ben franklin effect, the dissonance is. Finally, the authors present results from experiments examining predictions derived from the actionbased model and neural processes involved in dissonance reduction. Cognitive dissonance is the reason people react to new cognitions in a certain way, and change their behaviors or attitudes. Pdf cognitive dissonance theory festinger researchgate. Cognitive dissonance is defined as a state of tension that occurs when a person holds two. Introduced by leon festinger in 1957and since that time debated, refined, and debated again by psychologists cognitive dissonance is defined as the aversive state of arousal that occurs when a person holds two or more cognitions that are inconsistent with each other. That is, dissonant and consonant cognitions are defined in relation to a particular focal or generative cognition. The theory of cognitive dissonance proposes that people have a motivational drive or need to reduce dissonance which has been shown to occur in several different ways, depending on the situation and the individual. Hence, in smokers case, knowing cigarettes will cause harm on their health yet they are smoking, will induce the psychological discomfort. People tend to seek consistency in their attitudes and perceptions, so this conflict causes feelings of unease or discomfort.
Cognitive dissonance 1 theory paper cognitive dissonance. Schema theory is a branch of cognitive science concerned with how the brain structures knowledge. A schema is an organized unit of knowledge for a subject or event. Cognitive dissonance theory wicklund and brehm 1976 commented on the 20year history of dissonance theory by observing, to the extent that dissonance theory has evolved since 1957, the evolution has been primarily due to the discovery that responsibility is a prerequisite for effects that we call dissonance reduction p. An introduction to cognitive dissonance theory and an. Cognitive dissonance refers to a situation involving conflicting attitudes, beliefs or behaviors. The most famous and widely cited of these theories is cognitive dissonance cdt.
Cognitive dissonance cognitive theories of motivation rely on your thoughts, beliefs, and attitudes to explain your motivation. Jean piagets theory and stages of cognitive development. This perception of franklin has been cited as an example within cognitive dissonance theory, which says that people change their attitudes or behavior to resolve tensions, or dissonance, between their thoughts, attitudes, and actions. The theory is based on the idea that two cognitions can be relevant or irrelevant to each other festinger, 1957. In 1954, a cult leader predicted the end of the world. Leon festingers theory of cognitive dissonance networked. Introduced by leon festinger in 1957and since that time debated, refined, and debated again by psychologists cognitive dissonance is defined as the aversive state of arousal that occurs when a person holds two or. The participants in the experiment by festinger and carlsmith 1959 engaged in what is referred to as counterattitudinal behavior. Cognitive dissonance is an uncomfortable feeling caused by holding two contradictory ideas simultaneously. Cognitive dissonance theory an overview sciencedirect topics. Among the major theories in psychology, cognitive dissonance theory. If we wish to analyze the hypothesis stated above in detail, it is essential to define several basic concepts. Festinger 1957 defined cognitions broadly as any mental representation, and as such, cognitions include attitudes, beliefs, or knowledge of.
Cognitive dissonance definition in the cambridge english. Cognitivedissonancetheory after50yearsofdevelopment. Piagets 1936, 1950 theory of cognitive development explains how a child constructs a mental model of the world. In this short overview of the empirical literature on dissonance theory, we first introduce the definition of disso nance theory in its classic formulation by festinger. As presented by festinger in 1957, dissonance theory began by postulating that pairs of cognitions elements of knowledge can be relevant or irrelevant to one another. What is sometimes found is that manipulations designed to elicit cognitive dissonance affect feelings of psychological discomfort, but do not. Festingers 1957 cognitive dissonance theory suggests that we have an inner drive to hold all our attitudes and behavior in harmony and avoid disharmony or dissonance.
The standard approach in positive political theory posits that action choices are the consequences of preferences. Cognitive dissonance theory social emotive neuroscience lab. Cognitive dissonance theory requires conceptualization. It refers to the mental conflict that occurs when a persons behaviors and beliefs do not align. The advances in the history of cognitive dissonance theory. It holds that dissonance is experienced whenever one cognition that a person holds follows from the opposite of at least one other cognition that the person holds.
Dissonance theory revolutionized social psychology by emphasizing the role of cognition in social behavior. Theory the mental clash or tension resulting from the processes of acquiring knowledge or understanding through the senses is called cognitive dissonance. Cognitive dissonance theory links actions and attitudes. Difference between dissonance theory and meaning maintenance model.
As originally formulated festinger, 1957, cognitive dissonance is induced when a person holds two contradictory beliefs, or when a belief is incongruent with an action that the person had chosen freely to perform. Much of the research on dissonance has focused on the intraindividual aspect of dissonance. The theory of cognitive dissonance proposes that people have a motivational drive to reduce dissonance by changing their attitudes, beliefs and. This produces a feeling of mental discomfort leading to an alteration in one of the attitudes, beliefs or behaviors to reduce the discomfort and restore balance. What are the key assumptions that one needs to understand for the theory to make sense. Cognitive dissonance theory has a long and esteemed history in social psychology. The first real experimental study which tested the theory of cognitive dissonance was carried out by jack brehm in 1956 cooper, 2007. Cognitive dissonance is defined as a state of tension that occurs when a person holds two cognitions ideas, attitudes, beliefs, behaviours that are psychologically inconsistent with one another. The knowledge that some other person, generally like oneself, holds one opinion is dissonant with holding a contrary opinion. Cognitive dissonance in groups mckimmie 2015 social and.
In simple the clash of mind when we have to choose from the choices is can be called cognitive dissonance. People enjoy living in stability and when they are exposed to contradicting cognitions of their own preexisting beliefs or actions, they become distressed. Nov 30, 2018 cognitive dissonance leon festinger according to cognitive dissonance theory, there is a tendency for individuals to seek consistency among their cognitions i. Leon festinger was the first psychologist to study cognitive dissonance around the 1950s, and his works, such as books and experiments, helped to shed light on the ways in which humans act to decrease cognitive dissonance. Cognitive dissonance was first investigated by leon festinger, arising out of a. The clashing cognitions may include ideas, beliefs, or the knowledge that. Feb 29, 2020 psychologist leon festinger first described the theory of cognitive dissonance in 1957. Over 60 years ago, leon festinger 1957 postulated one of the most wellknown theories of psychology. I propose that people experience dissonance vicariously when they observe a member of their social group behave in ways that are inconsistent with that group members attitude.
According to cognitive dissonance theory, there is a tendency for individuals to seek consistency among their cognitions i. When there is an inconsistency between attitudes or behaviors dissonance, something must change to eliminate the dissonance. However, the dwindling interest in dissonance theory did not have a long run. Cognitive dissonance theory, as originally set out by festinger, described dissonance as an intraindividual phenomenon in a social context. Social psychologyin particular, cognitive dissonance theory suggests the opposite. The theory of cognitive dissonance festinger 1957 states that inconsistency between beliefs or behaviors creates an aversive motivational state akin to hunger or thirst. But even before festinger was the greek fabulist aesop. Schema theory jeff pankin fall 20 basic concepts definition.
Cognitive dissonance an overview sciencedirect topics. New perspectives on cognitive dissonance theory diva. The origins of cognitive dissonance yale university. They examined what would happen if two cognitions do not fit together that is, if a person believes in x but publicly states that he believes in not x. However, as if the same construct defined food deprivation and hunger. In his original description of cognitive dissonance, festinger 1957 posited that when an individuals cognitions or behaviours become inconsistent, the discomfort they experience motivates them to restore this imbalance and achieve consistency. Cognitive dissonance theory after 50 years of development. These examples demonstrate how incorporating the insights of social psychology can expand the scope of formalization in political science. In study i, it was predicted and supported that cognitive dissonance writing a counterattitudinal essay in the. This is known as the principle of cognitive consistency. At the same time, dissonance theory does provide the most parsimonious explanation for the data taken as a wholeas mcguire has argued. It holds that dissonance is experienced whenever one cognition that a person holds follows from the opposite.
Cognitive dissonance theory cognitive dissonance theory com. Santos, and paul bloom yale university abstract n in a study explo ring the orig ins of cogni tive diss onance, presc hoole rs and capu chins were give n a choic e betw een two equa lly prefe rred alte rnatives two. Cognitive dissonance theory has been known to play out in several ways. Such cognitions can be about behaviors, perceptions, attitudes, emotions, and beliefs. Abstract cognitive dissonance occurs when ones belief is contradicting with the behavior, according to festingers cognitive dissonance theory. The theory of cognitive dissonance was molded by leon festinger at the beginning of the 1950s. The theory of cognitive dissonance festinger, 1957. This seminal book is festingers exposition of the theory of cognitive dissonance. The problem we will be faced with in the course of our work is to explain why it is that. Understanding cognitive dissonance in smoking behaviour.
Cognitive dissonance theory and research dominated social psychology from the. More importantly, it also provided the first testable. This approach intersects nicely with models of interactive and studentcentered learning as well as fitting with the principles of developing media literacy, making it a good fit for the school setting. Definition leon festinger forced compliance decision making effort critical evaluationreferences. Abstract this article arises out of a study that was conducted on cognitive dissonance in social work. The assumptions i can make are people have a rich assortment of cognitive elements, people desire consistency between beliefs and behaviors, and individuals are compelled to. Festinger as an aversive psychological drive state that. In the field of psychology, cognitive dissonance occurs when a person holds contradictory. Hence, it contributes to the literature by showing that reinforcement might not explain every social phenomena. Cognitive dissonance theory festinger, 1957 continues to develop and inspire new research. According to festinger 12, cognitive dissonance is a psychological state, which refers to the discomfort felt at a discrepancy between what. The origins of cognitive dissonance evidence from childre n and monkeys louisa c. According to festinger, cognitive dissonance occurs when peoples thoughts and feelings are inconsistent with their behavior, which results in an uncomfortable, disharmonious feeling.
349 561 459 696 1007 1340 858 253 273 396 1127 789 863 944 746 807 191 1185 625 1442 609 1236 1318 1069 36 54 951 998 347 692