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==Overview == | =='''Overview'''== | ||
In cognitive dissonance theory, people seek consistency between what they believe and what they do. According to the theory, people strive for consistency between what they believe and what they do <ref name="Martinez"Martinez, M. E. (2010). Learning and cognition: The design of the mind. Perusalk (Vol. 6). Merrill. Retrieved December 13, 2022, from https://app.perusall.com/courses/foundations-of-cognitive-science-for-learning-f22/learning-and-cognition-the-design-of-the-mind?assignmentId=ZKHADfR8srroXsmKM&part=1. | [[File:Cognitive_Dissonance.png|thumb|right|Cognitive Dissonance<ref name="Sprout">Sprout. (2022, October 20). Cognitive dissonance: Our battle with conflicting beliefs. YouTube. Retrieved December 13, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxAu7BTZQRY | ||
</ref> | </ref>]]In cognitive dissonance theory, people seek consistency between what they believe and what they do. According to the theory, people strive for consistency between what they believe and what they do <ref name="Martinez">Martinez, M. E. (2010). Learning and cognition: The design of the mind. Perusalk (Vol. 6). Merrill. Retrieved December 13, 2022, from https://app.perusall.com/courses/foundations-of-cognitive-science-for-learning-f22/learning-and-cognition-the-design-of-the-mind?assignmentId=ZKHADfR8srroXsmKM&part=1. | ||
. When there is an imbalance between the two, tension is created. | </ref>. When there is an imbalance between the two, tension is created. Cognitive dissonance can be reduced by changing either beliefs or behaviors so that they become mutually consistent and harmonious. There are times when people change their behavior to match their beliefs; this is often seen as an ethical imperative since we should practice what we preach <ref name="Martinez">Martinez, M. E. (2010). Learning and cognition: The design of the mind. Perusalk (Vol. 6). Merrill. Retrieved December 13, 2022, from https://app.perusall.com/courses/foundations-of-cognitive-science-for-learning-f22/learning-and-cognition-the-design-of-the-mind?assignmentId=ZKHADfR8srroXsmKM&part=1. | ||
Cognitive dissonance | </ref>. | ||
</ref> | The first investigator of Cognitive Dissonance is Leon Festinger. According to Leon Festinger, after observing a cult that believed the earth would be destroyed by a flood, a series of cognitive dissonance that occurred following the flood did not occur since different members of the cult behaved differently before the “phony disaster” which led to radically different outcomes following the “crisis of doom”. To avoid dissonance, or disharmony, we strive to maintain harmony between our attitudes and behaviors, as explained by Festinger's cognitive dissonance theory<ref name="McLeod">McLeod, S. (1970, January 1). [cognitive dissonance]. Study Guides for Psychology Students - Simply Psychology. Retrieved December 13, 2022, from https://www.simplypsychology.org/cognitive-dissonance.html | ||
. | </ref>. | ||
=='''Evidence'''== | |||
There are three causes of Cognitive Dissonance: <b>Forced Compliance Behavior</b>, <b>Decision Making</b>, and <b>Effort</b>. | |||
==='''Force Compliance Behavior'''=== | |||
Force Compliance Behavior happens when individuals are forced to comply with actions that are inconsistent with their beliefs. Due to the fact that the behavior was already in the past, dissonance will need to be reduced by reevaluating their attitudes. And this cause of cognitive dissonance had been tested experimentally by Festinger and Carlsmith (1959)<ref name="Festinger&Carlsmith">Festinger, L., & Carlsmith, J. M. (1959). Cognitive consequences of forced compliance. The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 58(2), 203. | |||
</ref>. 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), and get paid either $1 or $20. It was found that those who received only $1 rated the tedious task as more enjoyable and fun than those who received $20 to lie. The $1 payment was not sufficient incentive for those who lied, so they experienced dissonance. In order to overcome that dissonance, they had to believe that the tasks were interesting and enjoyable<ref name="Festinger&Carlsmith">Festinger, L., & Carlsmith, J. M. (1959). Cognitive consequences of forced compliance. The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 58(2), 203. | |||
</ref>. Due to the fact that they receive $20 for turning pegs, there is no dissonance. As a result that dull task would create cognitive dissonance through forced compliance behavior. | |||
==='''Decision Making'''=== | |||
Decision Making is decision-making as a general rule creates dissonance. It was Brehm<ref name="Brehm">Brehm, J. W. (1956). Postdecision changes in the desirability of alternatives. The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 52(3), 384. | |||
</ref> who first studied how dissonance affects decision-making. The study participants were promised a product in return for their participation as part of a compensation package funded by several manufacturers. In the second step, the women rated eight household products ranging in price from $15 to $30 according to their desirability. The products included automatic coffee makers, electric sandwich grills, automatic toasters, and portable radios. One of the products was given to participants in the control group. Participants didn't need to reduce dissonance since they didn't make a decision. On an 8-point scale, low-dissonance group members chose between a desirable product, and one rated 3 points lower. Those who participated in the high-dissonance test had to choose between a highly desirable and a less desirable product. The products were rated again once individuals read the reports about them. Participants in the high-dissonance condition increased the attractiveness of the chosen alternative more than those in the other two conditions and decreased the attractiveness of the alternative they didn't choose. Therefore, cognitive dissonance also happens when there is decision-making. | |||
== | ==='''Effort'''=== | ||
The Effort represents the situation when a person spends years of effort achieving something but does not receive something back equally, in order to prevent dissonance from occurring, the person would try to convince themselves that they didn't really spend years of effort, or that it was really quite enjoyable, or that it wasn't really that much of an effort<ref name="Aronson&Mills">Aronson, E., & Mills, J. (1959). The effect of severity of initiation on liking for a group. The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 59(2), 177. | |||
</ref>. We could, of course, spend years of effort into achieving something which turns out to be a load of rubbish and then, in order to avoid the dissonance that produces, try to convince ourselves that we didn't really spend years of effort, or that the effort was really quite enjoyable, or that it wasn't really a lot of effort. An experiment on dissonance was carried out by Aronson and Mills in 1959<ref name="Aronson&Mills">Aronson, E., & Mills, J. (1959). The effect of severity of initiation on liking for a group. The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 59(2), 177. | |||
</ref>. In the experiment, a group of female students volunteered to take part in a discussion on the psychology of sex and read aloud to a male experimenter a list of sex-related words in different levels of embarrassment conditions. After the experiment, the result showed that participants in the “severe embarrassment” condition gave the most positive rating. The result showed that dissonance happened when a bad outcome with a lot of effort, so redefining the experience is interesting and helps reduce the dissonance. | |||
=='''Design Implications'''== | |||
[[File:Cognitive dissonance example of smoke.png|thumb|right|Cognitive dissonance example of smoke<ref name="McLeod">McLeod, S. (1970, January 1). [cognitive dissonance]. Study Guides for Psychology Students - Simply Psychology. Retrieved December 13, 2022, from https://www.simplypsychology.org/cognitive-dissonance.html | |||
</ref>]] | |||
The most commonly appeared example of cognitive dissonance is the smoking case. A person in a state of cognitive dissonance is someone who smokes (behavior) and knows that smoking causes cancer (cognition). Like the concept map shown on the right, the behavior of smoking cigarettes and the belief that smoking is unhealthy makes cognitive dissonance happen. Whether to change the action due to the belief or change the belief to rationalize the action would solve the dissonance. | |||
Back to the case of Leon Festinger that he and his two colleagues put themselves into the cult observation mentioned above, after the series of “phony end of world disasters” that the apocalyptic cult leader, Dorothy Martin, Festinger ad his colleagues hypothesized two options for these members: either let go the belief and actions they used to make or embrace the new belief that Martin used to explain why the flood is not coming<ref name="Sprout">Sprout. (2022, October 20). Cognitive dissonance: Our battle with conflicting beliefs. YouTube. Retrieved December 13, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxAu7BTZQRY | |||
</ref>. He was particularly interested in what happened to the cult members, particularly those who had given up their jobs and homes to work for the cult after the flood did not occur. Despite the fact that the cult is moving to a new belief system, these cult members put more effort into sticking to the cult's beliefs than fringe members. Those committed members were more likely to re-interpret the evidence so they could demonstrate their correctness: the earth did not get destroyed because the cult members were faithful. The fringe members were more likely to admit they had made mistakes and put it down to experience, since they lost less, at least do not sell their house or quit their jobs. See also:[[File:The_cult_observation_of_Festinger .png|thumb|340px|left|The cult observation of Festinger<ref name="Sprout">Sprout. (2022, October 20). Cognitive dissonance: Our battle with conflicting beliefs. YouTube. Retrieved December 13, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxAu7BTZQRY | |||
</ref>]][[File:Cognitive Dissonance- Our Battle With Conflicting Beliefs.png|thumb|300px|[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxAu7BTZQRY]]</li> | |||
<li style="display: inline-block;"> | |||
Another classic cognitive dissonance case is “The Fox and the Grapes” from Aesop's fable the fox insists to say the grape is sour because he cannot reach it.[[File:Fox and Grape.png||thumb|140px|right|Fox and Grape<ref name="Cognitive Dissonance in Psychology: Theory, Examples & Definition">Cognitive Dissonance in Psychology: Theory, Examples & Definition. (2015, June 5). Retrieved from https://study.com/academy/lesson/cognitive-dissonance-in-psychology-theory-examples-definition.html. | |||
</ref>]] During this process, cognitive dissonance occurs in fox as he changes his belief to make his belief and behavior mutually consistent and harmonious. | |||
=='''Challenges and/or Alternative theories'''== | |||
Taking a critical stance regarding the cognitive dissonance theory, in scientific terms, cognitive dissonance is difficult to observe, and therefore it is impossible to measure objectively. This makes cognitive dissonance a somewhat subjective concept. The word “dissonance” is also ambiguous whether it is a feeling or perception that is hard to depict. Changing well-learned behaviors to solve the "dissonance" is also a problem that is often difficult for people. Individuals may act differently from what this theory predicts depending on their own circumstances<ref name="McLeod">McLeod, S. (1970, January 1). [cognitive dissonance]. Study Guides for Psychology Students - Simply Psychology. Retrieved December 13, 2022, from https://www.simplypsychology.org/cognitive-dissonance.html | |||
</ref>. When it comes down to it, dissonance is really nothing more than guilt when there is an inconsistency between one's self-concept and cognition of their behavior. It is more likely to happen to anxious people. Despite considerable dissonance, many people do not experience tensions as predicted by this theory. | |||
Additionally, most experiments used students as participants, raising questions about bias in the sample. Cognitive dissonance theory has low ecological validity in many studies. This poses the question of whether the results of such experiments can be generalized<ref name="McLeod">McLeod, S. (1970, January 1). [cognitive dissonance]. Study Guides for Psychology Students - Simply Psychology. Retrieved December 13, 2022, from https://www.simplypsychology.org/cognitive-dissonance.html | |||
</ref>. | |||
=='''References'''== | |||
<references /> | |||
* | |||
<br> | <br> | ||
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Latest revision as of 17:12, 15 December 2022
Overview[edit | edit source]
In cognitive dissonance theory, people seek consistency between what they believe and what they do. According to the theory, people strive for consistency between what they believe and what they do [2]. When there is an imbalance between the two, tension is created. Cognitive dissonance can be reduced by changing either beliefs or behaviors so that they become mutually consistent and harmonious. There are times when people change their behavior to match their beliefs; this is often seen as an ethical imperative since we should practice what we preach [2].
The first investigator of Cognitive Dissonance is Leon Festinger. According to Leon Festinger, after observing a cult that believed the earth would be destroyed by a flood, a series of cognitive dissonance that occurred following the flood did not occur since different members of the cult behaved differently before the “phony disaster” which led to radically different outcomes following the “crisis of doom”. To avoid dissonance, or disharmony, we strive to maintain harmony between our attitudes and behaviors, as explained by Festinger's cognitive dissonance theory[3].
Evidence[edit | edit source]
There are three causes of Cognitive Dissonance: Forced Compliance Behavior, Decision Making, and Effort.
Force Compliance Behavior[edit | edit source]
Force Compliance Behavior happens when individuals are forced to comply with actions that are inconsistent with their beliefs. Due to the fact that the behavior was already in the past, dissonance will need to be reduced by reevaluating their attitudes. And this cause of cognitive dissonance had been tested experimentally by Festinger and Carlsmith (1959)[4]. 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), and get paid either $1 or $20. It was found that those who received only $1 rated the tedious task as more enjoyable and fun than those who received $20 to lie. The $1 payment was not sufficient incentive for those who lied, so they experienced dissonance. In order to overcome that dissonance, they had to believe that the tasks were interesting and enjoyable[4]. Due to the fact that they receive $20 for turning pegs, there is no dissonance. As a result that dull task would create cognitive dissonance through forced compliance behavior.
Decision Making[edit | edit source]
Decision Making is decision-making as a general rule creates dissonance. It was Brehm[5] who first studied how dissonance affects decision-making. The study participants were promised a product in return for their participation as part of a compensation package funded by several manufacturers. In the second step, the women rated eight household products ranging in price from $15 to $30 according to their desirability. The products included automatic coffee makers, electric sandwich grills, automatic toasters, and portable radios. One of the products was given to participants in the control group. Participants didn't need to reduce dissonance since they didn't make a decision. On an 8-point scale, low-dissonance group members chose between a desirable product, and one rated 3 points lower. Those who participated in the high-dissonance test had to choose between a highly desirable and a less desirable product. The products were rated again once individuals read the reports about them. Participants in the high-dissonance condition increased the attractiveness of the chosen alternative more than those in the other two conditions and decreased the attractiveness of the alternative they didn't choose. Therefore, cognitive dissonance also happens when there is decision-making.
Effort[edit | edit source]
The Effort represents the situation when a person spends years of effort achieving something but does not receive something back equally, in order to prevent dissonance from occurring, the person would try to convince themselves that they didn't really spend years of effort, or that it was really quite enjoyable, or that it wasn't really that much of an effort[6]. We could, of course, spend years of effort into achieving something which turns out to be a load of rubbish and then, in order to avoid the dissonance that produces, try to convince ourselves that we didn't really spend years of effort, or that the effort was really quite enjoyable, or that it wasn't really a lot of effort. An experiment on dissonance was carried out by Aronson and Mills in 1959[6]. In the experiment, a group of female students volunteered to take part in a discussion on the psychology of sex and read aloud to a male experimenter a list of sex-related words in different levels of embarrassment conditions. After the experiment, the result showed that participants in the “severe embarrassment” condition gave the most positive rating. The result showed that dissonance happened when a bad outcome with a lot of effort, so redefining the experience is interesting and helps reduce the dissonance.
Design Implications[edit | edit source]
The most commonly appeared example of cognitive dissonance is the smoking case. A person in a state of cognitive dissonance is someone who smokes (behavior) and knows that smoking causes cancer (cognition). Like the concept map shown on the right, the behavior of smoking cigarettes and the belief that smoking is unhealthy makes cognitive dissonance happen. Whether to change the action due to the belief or change the belief to rationalize the action would solve the dissonance.
Back to the case of Leon Festinger that he and his two colleagues put themselves into the cult observation mentioned above, after the series of “phony end of world disasters” that the apocalyptic cult leader, Dorothy Martin, Festinger ad his colleagues hypothesized two options for these members: either let go the belief and actions they used to make or embrace the new belief that Martin used to explain why the flood is not coming[1]. He was particularly interested in what happened to the cult members, particularly those who had given up their jobs and homes to work for the cult after the flood did not occur. Despite the fact that the cult is moving to a new belief system, these cult members put more effort into sticking to the cult's beliefs than fringe members. Those committed members were more likely to re-interpret the evidence so they could demonstrate their correctness: the earth did not get destroyed because the cult members were faithful. The fringe members were more likely to admit they had made mistakes and put it down to experience, since they lost less, at least do not sell their house or quit their jobs. See also:
Challenges and/or Alternative theories[edit | edit source]
Taking a critical stance regarding the cognitive dissonance theory, in scientific terms, cognitive dissonance is difficult to observe, and therefore it is impossible to measure objectively. This makes cognitive dissonance a somewhat subjective concept. The word “dissonance” is also ambiguous whether it is a feeling or perception that is hard to depict. Changing well-learned behaviors to solve the "dissonance" is also a problem that is often difficult for people. Individuals may act differently from what this theory predicts depending on their own circumstances[3]. When it comes down to it, dissonance is really nothing more than guilt when there is an inconsistency between one's self-concept and cognition of their behavior. It is more likely to happen to anxious people. Despite considerable dissonance, many people do not experience tensions as predicted by this theory. Additionally, most experiments used students as participants, raising questions about bias in the sample. Cognitive dissonance theory has low ecological validity in many studies. This poses the question of whether the results of such experiments can be generalized[3].
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Sprout. (2022, October 20). Cognitive dissonance: Our battle with conflicting beliefs. YouTube. Retrieved December 13, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxAu7BTZQRY
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Martinez, M. E. (2010). Learning and cognition: The design of the mind. Perusalk (Vol. 6). Merrill. Retrieved December 13, 2022, from https://app.perusall.com/courses/foundations-of-cognitive-science-for-learning-f22/learning-and-cognition-the-design-of-the-mind?assignmentId=ZKHADfR8srroXsmKM&part=1.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 McLeod, S. (1970, January 1). [cognitive dissonance]. Study Guides for Psychology Students - Simply Psychology. Retrieved December 13, 2022, from https://www.simplypsychology.org/cognitive-dissonance.html
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Festinger, L., & Carlsmith, J. M. (1959). Cognitive consequences of forced compliance. The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 58(2), 203.
- ↑ Brehm, J. W. (1956). Postdecision changes in the desirability of alternatives. The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 52(3), 384.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Aronson, E., & Mills, J. (1959). The effect of severity of initiation on liking for a group. The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 59(2), 177.
- ↑ Cognitive Dissonance in Psychology: Theory, Examples & Definition. (2015, June 5). Retrieved from https://study.com/academy/lesson/cognitive-dissonance-in-psychology-theory-examples-definition.html.