This simple observation led to the development of a theory that became very controversial, and it would be. Leon festinger, one such noted social psychologist, explained that people, in the course of their daily lives, hold a myriad of cognitions simultaneously. It has been supported by the bulk of the published research, but some research and, more importantly, some of the theoretical discussion has called into question one or another. People are then motivated to reduce the dissonance, often in the easiest manner possible. Adaptability psychology, cognitive dissonance, cognitieve dissonantie, dissonance cognitive. Cognitive dissonance theory suggests that when we make a major decision, we reduce potential dissonance by looking for justification before completing the action associate with the decision. Individuals then change their attitudes to conform more closely with their actions,leading to an important source of attitude formation and change.
Cognitive dissonance theory definition psychology glossary. The theory of cognitive dissonance and its application in. Social psychologyin particular, cognitive dissonance theorysuggests the opposite. The theory of dissonance is here applied to the problem of why partial reward, delay of reward, and effort expenditure during training result in increased resistance to extinction. 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. Cognitive dissonance theory is applicable in all situations which involves formation and. Cognitive dissonance is defined as a state of mind where our belief does not match with our behaviour. In his own words, he quickly sums up this quite complex theory. When there is an inconsistency between attitudes or behaviors dissonance, something must change to eliminate the. Selective exposure is not a signifiant factor if we.
It can thus be concluded that the theory of cognitive dissonance is a nomothetic theory one that seeks universal and general laws. The theory of cognitive dissonance in social psychology proposes that people have a motivational drive to reduce dissonance by altering existing cognitions, adding new ones to create a consistent belief. Jul 08, 2016 cognitive dissonance is the mental stress or discomfort experienced by an individual who holds two or more contradictory beliefs, ideas, or values at the same time, performs an action that is contradictory to one or more beliefs, ideas, or values, or is confronted by new information that conflicts with existing beliefs, ideas, or values. Youve likely experienced cognitive dissonance many, many times before. Cognitive dissonance is described as psychological discomfort that arises from holding incompatible ideas at the same time. A theory of cognitive dissonance by festinger, leon, 19191989. This book offers a concise and topical overview of the theory of cognitive dissonance, related experiments and in particular its application in the context of marketing.
This work is a clearly stated theory on how humans think, decide, and defend their decisions. The theory of cognitive dissonance essay example 877. Since its publication by leon festinger in 1957, the theory of cognitive dissonance has generated an enormous amount of research and considerable theoretical discussion. The theory of cognitive dissonance was developed in 1957 by leon festinger 1919 to 1989, an american psychologist, and has at its core the principle that people strive to maintain consistency among pairs of cognitions or knowledges about their own opinions and. The theory of cognitive dissonance festinger, 1957. It is known by every social psychologist, most psychologists of any stripe, and the lay public, making its way into such mainstream publications as the new york times with increasing frequency and accuracy. Conditional formatting of lists in sharepoint 20 using clientside scripts. Ty book ti a theory of cognitive dissonance au festinger, leon sp 291 cy stanford pb stanford university press py 1957 ur books. The theory of cognitive dissonance essay example 877 words. Mar, 2014 books about parallel or divergent realities are kind of my thing right now, but, even so, dissonance is really something special. In terms of psychology, its a mental discomfort associated with psychological stress experienced by a person, where the person holds on to more than one contradictory ideas, attitudes, or beliefs. In the rest of the book many behavioural facts supporting the theory are put forward.
List of books and articles about cognitive dissonance. Here are presented all the main aspects of the theory. Both cognitive dissonance theory and the theory of planned behaviour are motivational theories. A theory of cognitive dissonance by leon festinger. You have to choose only 1, causing you cognitive dissonance. Cognitive dissonance theory cognitive dissonance theory was first developed by leon festinger in 1956 after the publication of a book when prophecy fails, written with coauthors henry w. Healthy pleasuresrobert ornstein has a section on it good thinking. This produces a feeling of discomfort leading to an alteration in one of the attitudes, beliefs or behaviors to reduce the discomfort and restore balance etc. Psychologists have been studying the theory of cognitive dissonance since the 1950s. Specifically, it focuses on the relationships among cognitions that are elements of knowledge that people have about their behaviors, attitudes, perceptions, beliefs, feelings, or environments. During 1950s, festingers theory of cognitive dissonance was most influential in its conceptualization of attitude davey, 2005.
Publication date 1962 topics adaptability psychology, dissonance cognitive, cognitieve dissonantie. Cognitive dissonance in theory and everyday life everyday. This is known as the principle of cognitive consistency. Riecken and stanley schachter, to explain how members of a ufo doomsday cult increased their commitment to the cult when a prophesised destruction of the earth did not happen.
In simple the clash of mind when we have to choose from the choices is can be called cognitive dissonance. Many of these cognitions are irrelevant to each other and are not problematic for the. Leon festingers theory of cognitive dissonance has been widely recognized for its important and influential concepts in areas of motivation and social psychology. The principle of cognitive dissonance was made popular in the late 1950s by leon festingers book, theory of cognitive dissonance. Dissonance theory and attitudediscrepant behavior a major difference between cognitive dissonance theory and selfperception theory concerns the matter of aversive tension. Festingers cognitive dissonance theory and research.
According to cognitive dissonance theory, there is a tendency for individuals to seek consistency among their cognitions i. This approach is based on the hypotheticodeductive method, which involves the following processes. Proposed by festinger, the cognitive dissonance theory asserts that people often have two conflicting or inconsistent cognitions which produce a state of tension or discomfort also known as dissonance. Jan 22, 2019 cognitive dissonance is defined as a state of mind where our belief does not match with our behaviour. May 11, 2012 theory of cognitive dissonance the theory of cognitive dissonance has been the subject of interest and study of social psychologists in particular. The theory of cognitive dissonance 1 concentrates on creating knowledge about important psychological processes of individuals. Originally published in the journal of abnormal and social psychology in 1959, cognitive consequences of forced compliance by leon festinger and james carlsmith was the first of numerous studies to corroborate the theory of cognitive dissonance. In the field of psychology, cognitive dissonance occurs when a person holds two or more contradictory beliefs, ideas, or values, or participates in an action that goes against one of these three, and experiences psychological stress because of that. An introduction to the theory of cognitive dissonance. Sep 10, 2019 healthy pleasuresrobert ornstein has a section on it good thinking. In general, social psychologists, always looking for the next great theory, seemed to have shelved this book and its concepts within a couple of decades after it came out in 1957 see leon festingers comments 30 years later in appendix b of cognitive dissonance progress on a pivotal theory in social. If you change a persons behavior, his thoughts and feelings will change to minimize the. A cognitive dissonance approach avidit acharya, stanford university matthew blackwell, harvard university maya sen, harvard university the standard approach in positive political theory posits that action choices are the consequences of preferences.
How to relieve depression by fighting cognitive dissonance. 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. Cognitive dissonance is the negative feeling that results from conflicting beliefs and behaviors. Cognitive dissonance has been an important and influential theory since leon festinger published his classic work in 1957. Adam kowol s papers, compositions and presentations. Lord wrote a paper on whether or not the theory of cognitive dissonance was not tested enough and if it was a mistake to accept it into theory. Theory of cognitive dissonance definition of theory of.
Delancy sullivan has always known theres more to reality than what people see. Before leon fessinger created experiments in 1957 he and his colleagues henry riecken and stanley schachter were interested in conditions under which disconfirmation of beliefs leads to increased conviction. Dissonance arises when elements of cognition do not fit together, motivating a person to reduce or eliminate the dissonance, just as, for example, the presence of hunger leads. And for clinicians, he provides a thoughtprovoking section on the union of psychotherapy all brands and cognitive dissonance. She has the ability to move between the parallel realities that are created when choices are made. Desire for internal consistency is a basic human drive just like hunger or thirst. The mental clash or tension resulting from the processes of acquiring knowledge or understanding through the senses is called cognitive dissonance. Cognitive dissonance is the term used in modern psychology to describe the state of holding two or more conflicting cognitions e. According to cognitive dissonance theory,an individual experiences a mental discomfort after taking an action that seems to be in con. Ty book ti a theory of cognitive dissonance au festinger, leon sp 291 cy stanford pb stanford university press py 1957 ur. Festingers cognitive dissonance theory and research examples. The theory of cognitive dissonance was developed in 1957 by leon festinger 1919 to 1989, an american psychologist, and has at its core the principle that people strive to maintain consistency among pairs of cognitions or knowledges about their. Dissonance theory does not rest upon the assumption that man is a rational animal. A motivation to reduce cognitive discrepancies is a central part of dissonance theory but, in the selfperception explanation, there is no aversive motivational pressure.
The theory of cognitive dissonance started as a very simple observation by leon festinger that people do not like to deal with inconsistency. Because cognitive dissonance is a relatively new theory, there are some that are skeptical of the idea. Cognitive dissonance and the theory of planned behaviour. Cognitive dissonance theory leon festinger shared his brilliance with the world when he, opposing all previous psychological behaviorist work, created the cognitive dissonance theory. Cognitive dissonance and theory of planned behaviour. It is helpful for students and scholars interested in an introduction to the concept of cognitive dissonance and the literature covering it. This paper endeavours to deconstruct attitude and in turn compare and contrast its place as a construct in festingers 1957 cognitive dissonance theory with ajzens 1991 theory of planned behaviour.
According to this theory, when two actions or ideas are not psychologically consistent with each other, people do all in their power. What books would you recommend that are about cognitive. In a time of abundant information, the risk of picking up only those data that support our previous convictions is always there. Much research has been carried out in understanding the construction, stability, utility and malleability of attitudes. Cognitive dissonance and compensatory control cognitive dissonance theories contend that individuals want consistency among their cognitions i. If you study psychology there is a very good chance that you will be introduced to the theory of cognitive dissonance. Cooper agrees, and he discusses the role of cognitive dissonance theory in reaching current healthcare and public health goals. In general, social psychologists, always looking for the next great theory, seemed to have shelved this book and its concepts within a couple of decades after it came out in 1957 see leon festingers comments 30 years later in appendix b of cognitive dissonance progress on a.
This is chapter one of leon festinger, a theory of cognitive dissonance. Publication date 1962 topics adaptability psychology, dissonance cognitive. This robust theory suggests that a motivational state of inner tension is triggered by logically inconsistent ways of thinking. A marketing and management perspective article pdf available in procedia social and behavioral sciences.
What is cognitive dissonance, know its theory and examples. Cite a theory of cognitive dissonance leon festinger. Defination cognitive dissonance refers to a situation involving conflicting attitudes, beliefs or behaviors. How did leon festinger discovered cognitive dissonance.