Theory cognitive dissonance

Cognitive dissonance theory The theory of cognitive dissonance, developed by Leon Festinger (1962), has been one of the most influential theories in social psychology. Festinger s fundamental assumption, for which there is considerable evidence, is that people like to see themselves, and be seen by others, as being consistent. This also applies to the relationship between attitudes and behaviour. What interested Festinger, therefore, was the situation in which there was a contradiction between a... 

Festinger, L. (1957) A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance, Evanston, III. Row, Peterson. 

In the language of dissonance theory, the cognition that "someone else has Z" is neither consonant nor dissonant with the two premises. It is simply irrelevant and thus cannot contribute anything to the resolution of inner conflict.92 One could argue, perhaps, that the displacement process is a "blindly" causal mechanism and that there is no presumption that it will solve, even partially and temporarily, the conflict that causes it. That would be, however, to go against the grain of all writings on the defense mechanisms from Freud onward. "The... 

We have considered the effects of attitudes on behaviour, but what of the effects of behaviour on attitudes It may appear surprising to consider the effects of behaviour on attitudes, as it is normally assumed that the relationship is the other way around. There is, however, considerable evidence to show that, under certain circumstances, behaviour can have a considerable influence on attitudes. There are two main theories that explain this effect, those of cognitive dissonance and self-perception theory. For some time it was thought that these theories were in conflict, but recent research has shown that they explain different effects. 

Festinger, Leon. A theory of cognitive dissonance. Stanford Stanford University Press, 1957. 

The experimenters reasoned that students who advocated a position they did not believe in, but who were paid well, could rationalize the speech by saying they did it because of the money. Those who were paid very httle did not have this rationalization. Instead, they had to rationahze by deciding that the position was not really so bad, thereby changing their attimde in the direction of that position. The theory states that when people have two thoughts (cognitions) that are incompatible (dissonant), they will change their attitude... 

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