1、Comm 314 Chap 9 Dissonance0Comm 314, Chapter 9, Cognitive Dissonance TheoryCognitive dissonance - Holding two or more contradictory ideas in ones mind at the same time creates instability and imbalance that the person will strive to stabilize and bring back in balance, often through attitude change.
2、 It is defined as, “A negative unpleasant state that occurs whenever a person holds two cognitions that are psychologically inconsistent” (Aronson, in Perloff, p. 239).Developed by Leon Festinger and introduced in 1957, cognitive dissonance is among the most influential of social psychological theor
3、ies.Major points: We each carry around a great mass of cognitive elements: attitudes, belief, values, intentions, perceptions, information, knowledge of our own behaviors. These relate to each other in a system, with the elements being irrelevant to each other, consistent (consonant) with each other
4、, or inconsistent (dissonant). Consonance or dissonance is determined within a persons belief system and should not be imposed from without.Two overriding premises: Dissonance produces tension (psychological discomfort) that creates pressure towards change. When dissonance occurs, the person will tr
5、y to reduce it and even avoid situations that are likely to create it.Dissonance can occur in these situations (and probably others): You hold two clearly inconsistent thoughts:I generally like candidates who are Republicans. But I consider myself an Independent. You freely act in a way that is inco
6、nsistent with a strongly held belief. I believe in protecting the environment. I did not recycle this week. You make a decision that rules out another possibly equally good decision.I chose to go to the mountains for my weekend getaway. The beach would have been nice too. You expend a lot of resourc
7、es time, money, energy, emotion on something that turns out perhaps not to have been worth it.I cant believe I worked so hard on that, and for so little return. You cant find sufficient psychological justification for what you believe or do. Why do I worry so much about what that guy thinks, when he
8、 is such a loser?The amount of dissonance felt will depend upon the importance of the issue and the centrality, range and integration of the belief system in which it occurs.Dissonance is motivating, in that people dont like it, and need to change something to eliminate it. This can involve attitude
9、 and behavior change. You redouble your efforts to recycle, you search out for information that supports the choice you made or your previous actions, or simply decide what you believe or do is right and justified, no matter what others say, or you decide that other needs are more important than the
10、 dissonance you feel.There are various psychological and communication techniques we use to resolve dissonance: Change the attitude. I actually sort of like the rain. Add consonant cognitions. Look at the good side.I could stay in and study all day without being tempted to get out. Derogate (think n
11、egatively about) the other choice.I probably would have hurt myself on the ski slopes anyway. Make the choices seem further apart in your own mind. Wow, watching the storms on the coast is awesome; all that cold, snow and ice are overrated anyway. Trivialize the cognitions. Its just a weekend, and a
12、fter all Im not at home working. Suppress thoughts about it. No point crying over spilt milk. Communicate. Talk to others about how much fun you are having. Alter your behavior or attitude. Decide to leave and never do that again.We sometimes stick with clearly dysfunctional attitudes and behaviors
13、simply because of sunk costs: we have invested so much in them that getting out of the situation would cost more than its worth, perhaps.When challenged, we often become defensive, and feel our self esteem and “face” are at risk, so we become even more attached to our decisions.People who undergo se
14、vere hazing to join a group then justify to themselves that the group was worth joining. Hazing is often used as a form of “team” building.We have a hard time accepting that we have wasted our time, money and effort on things that arent worth it, or that we have made a bad decision.But note this: bu
15、ying the “wrong” brand of paper towel is likely not to create dissonance. Voting for the “wrong” candidate or buying the “wrong” house likely will.Examples You You + + + - - +Honest Cheated Friend Cheated You + - + Arnold S. Sexual HarassmentWhat are you to do? How do you deal with dissonance after
16、it has happened? It calls for change of some sort, certainly reflection and communication.1. You might change a cognitive element, a behavior, an attitude or a belief.2. New elements might be added to one or another side of the tension.3. You might downgrade the importance of one or more elements.4.
17、 You might search for more consonant information.5. You might distort, misinterpret or misperceive information to bolster one element.Advertising Example #1 You + ? +Keeping family New and improved safe Super Sticky TiresAd copy: Nothing can be more important than keeping your family safe. Are you s
18、till relying on your old, worn, ordinary Slick Tires to do that? Well, you may have a very rude surprise coming your way (tree falls in road, brakes applied, car skids on wet road and goes off cliff). Make sure you do your very best to protect your family rush out today to your neighborhood tire dea
19、ler and equip your car with new Super Stickies. In 20 years your children will still be thanking you for keeping them safe! Advertising Example #2 You Nike Tiger WoodsDissonance and induced complianceWhen people are induced (persuaded) to behave in a way they would not ordinarily, later they are fou
20、nd to have shifted their attitudes to be more supportive of that behavior, a behavior they would have rejected earlier.Their behaviors are said to be counterattitudinal. I think global warming is a real threat to the planet and is largely the result of human activity. For my speech class I am requir
21、ed to give a speech saying it is a normal fluctuation in the earths climate and has little to do with human activity. I have behaved in a way that the opposite of my actual beliefs (counterattitudinal). There are two ways to resolve this:I did it because I had to (to pass the course).Little or no di
22、ssonance will result.I didnt have to do it; I would have been OK without it. Dissonance will likely result. The dissonance felt is dependent upon the ability to justify the decision through another cognition (a reason it was done).The Festinger and Carlsmith (1959, in Perloff, p. 244-245) illustrate
23、s this. Experimental subjects were required to complete a very boring task, then required to tell others that it was really interesting. Some were paid a dollar for telling this lie; some $20. Those who were paid the $1 said they enjoyed this task more than those who were paid $20. The explanation:
24、Those who were paid $20 felt they had sufficient justification for telling the lie, so they felt no dissonance. Those who were paid $1 could not find a justification for their lie, so they changed their attitude toward the task to bring it in line with their behavior (telling the lie). Voila, disson
25、ance resolved.Thus: inducing people to change behavior may result in them changing their attitude toward the behavior.So if children are induced to eat their broccoli, they may eventually decide they like broccoli. But parents should not pay or reward the kids for eating the broccoli; this gives the
26、m a rationale for eating it (the reward), no dissonance will occur, and their attitudes toward broccoli will not change. Drop the reward, the broccoli eating ends. If they are more gently persuaded, then dissonance may be created and attitudes changed.It is important, therefore, that people be allow
27、ed to persuade themselves, rather to be coerced into doing something they dont want to do. Self persuasion may result in dissonance that leads to more permanent attitude and behavior change. Selectivity in information processingAmong the most interesting results of dissonance are the processes of se
28、lective exposure, perception and retention. Avoiding and resolving dissonance involves the management of our information environments. We can arrange it so as to prevent dissonance and help us resolve it if it occurs.Selective exposure: We only see and hear what is likely to support our current atti
29、tudes and behaviors. Thus conservatives watch Fox News, liberals dont. We surround ourselves with other people (friends) who tend to agree with us and behave in the same ways we do. We avoid people who dont. Thus we ensure that new dissonant information will not enter our cognitive systems.Selective
30、 perception: We perceive in a situation those aspects of it that tend to support our beliefs, attitudes and behaviors. Sometimes this leads to misperception. Selective retention: We remember better and longer those things that are supportive of our beliefs and attitudes. We may literally rearrange o
31、ur memories to be more consistent with our wishes for the past than the reality of it.These processes explain why stereotypes are so resistant to change. They shape the nature of the “evidence” we gather from the world, so they are never really confronted by the “facts.”Specific applications to persuasion Make a commitment public This raises the stakes of inconsistency between attitudes and behavior. Make people advocate a position with which they do not agree. To resolve dissonance, they may come to agree with the position they advocated. Confront people (gently) with their
