Cognitive Dissonance Theory in Psychology

Study Notes

Cognitive Dissonance Theory

Festinger's Cognitive Dissonance Theory proposes that people experience discomfort or dissonance when they hold two or more conflicting beliefs, values, or attitudes.

Key Components:

Cognitive Dissonance: the psychological tension or discomfort that arises from conflicting beliefs, values, or attitudes.
Dissonance Reduction: the process of reducing or eliminating dissonance by changing one or more of the conflicting elements.

Factors Influencing Dissonance:

Importance: the more important the conflicting beliefs, values, or attitudes, the greater the dissonance.
Inconsistency: the greater the inconsistency between the conflicting elements, the greater the dissonance.
Volition: the more voluntary the conflicting elements, the greater the dissonance.

Dissonance Reduction Strategies:

Change One or More Beliefs: alter one or more of the conflicting beliefs to reduce dissonance.
Add New Cognitions: add new information to justify or rationalize the conflicting beliefs.
Trivialize: downplay the importance of the conflicting beliefs.
Deny: deny or reject one or more of the conflicting beliefs.

Examples and Applications:

Decision Making: people may experience dissonance after making a decision, leading to rationalization or justification of the choice.
Social Influence: people may change their beliefs or attitudes to reduce dissonance caused by conflicting social norms or group pressure.
Advertising: marketers may use dissonance reduction strategies to influence consumer behavior.

Criticisms and Limitations:

Overemphasis on Rationalization: the theory may overemphasize the role of rationalization in dissonance reduction.
Lack of Cultural Consideration: the theory may not account for cultural differences in dissonance experience and reduction.

Cognitive Dissonance Theory

Cognitive Dissonance Theory proposes that people experience discomfort or dissonance when they hold two or more conflicting beliefs, values, or attitudes.

Key Components

Cognitive Dissonance is the psychological tension or discomfort that arises from conflicting beliefs, values, or attitudes.
Dissonance Reduction is the process of reducing or eliminating dissonance by changing one or more of the conflicting elements.

Factors Influencing Dissonance

The more important the conflicting beliefs, values, or attitudes, the greater the dissonance.
The greater the inconsistency between the conflicting elements, the greater the dissonance.
The more voluntary the conflicting elements, the greater the dissonance.

Dissonance Reduction Strategies

Change one or more beliefs to reduce dissonance by altering one or more of the conflicting beliefs.
Add new cognitions to justify or rationalize the conflicting beliefs.
Trivialize the importance of the conflicting beliefs to downplay the dissonance.
Deny or reject one or more of the conflicting beliefs to reduce dissonance.

Examples and Applications

Decision Making: people may experience dissonance after making a decision, leading to rationalization or justification of the choice.
Social Influence: people may change their beliefs or attitudes to reduce dissonance caused by conflicting social norms or group pressure.
Advertising: marketers may use dissonance reduction strategies to influence consumer behavior.

Criticisms and Limitations

The theory may overemphasize the role of rationalization in dissonance reduction.
The theory may not account for cultural differences in dissonance experience and reduction.

Description

Learn about Festinger's Cognitive Dissonance Theory, which describes the discomfort people feel when holding conflicting beliefs or values. Discover the concept of cognitive dissonance and dissonance reduction.