Cognitive Dissonance Theory
Presented by:
Judy King & Deanna Williams
Leon Festinger (1919-1990)
• Social psychologist from New York
City
• Bachelor of Science degree from
the City College of New York in 1939
• Ph.D. in 1942 at the University of Iowa
• Studied under Kurt Lewin,
– often considered the farther of
social psychology
• Taught at University of Iowa,
University of Rochester, the
Massachusetts Institute of Tech.,
University of Minnesota, University of
Michigan, and Stanford University.
• Finished at the New School for Social
Research in New York City until his
death in 1990.
What is Cognitive Dissonance?
Distressing mental state people feel
when they find themselves doing
things that don’t fit with their
opinions or what they know.
An aversive drive that goads us to be
consistent.
3 Ways to Reduce Dissonance
between attitudes & actions
– Hypothesis 1: Selective
Exposure Prevents
Dissonance
• Avoid anything that causes
discomfort
– Hypothesis 2: Postdecison
Dissonance Creates a Need
for Reassurance
• “Is that Ok?”
– Hypothesis 3: Minimal
Justification for Action
Induces a Shift in attitude
• Behavior → Attitude example
Persuading
Change of behavior
Change of attitude
Festinger says we should attempt to
persuade others by changing their
behavior which will change their attitude.
Behavior  Attitude
When dissonance occurs... We
• Change our behavior.
• Justify our behavior by
changing the conflicting
cognition.
• Justify our behavior by
adding new cognitions.
Dissonance Theory Makes a
Comeback
• Elliot Aronson
• Dept. of Psychology
• University of California, Santa
Cruz
Graduate Student at Stanford
under Festinger in mid-1950s
Aronson says of CD Theory
“It is essentially a theory
about sense making—how
people try to make sense
out of their environment
and their behavior—and
thus, try to lead lives that
are (at least in their own
minds) sensible and
meaningful.”
Aronson adds...
Aronson elaborated on the centrality of
the self-concept in the experience and
reduction of dissonance and suggests
most individuals strive for 3 things:
1. To preserve a consistent, stable,
predictable sense of self.
2. To preserve a competent sense of
self.
3. To preserve a morally good sense of
self.
What would YOU do?
Festinger’s Experiment with lying
college students
• Offered money to student
workers to lie
• Some did not lie even when
amount was increased
• Some did lie for $1 but
changed their minds about the
truth
• Some did lie but only for $20
which they thought justified
lying.
Justification...
• Cognitive dissonance says that
people felt bad about lying for
$1 because they could not
justify the act, so they said no or
changed the truth.
• Those who were paid $1 and
DID lie must have really enjoyed
it (because $1 does not justify
the act).
• Those who were paid $20 and
lied with no dissonance were
justifying doing it for the money.
3 Revisions to Cognitive
Dissonance Theory
• Search for self-consistency
• Personal responsibility of
bad outcomes
• Self-affirmation to dissipate
dissonance
Three State of the Art Revisions: The Cause and Effect of Dissonance
Em Griffin, A First Look at Communication Theory, p. 233-234
Search for Self-Consistency
I would never do that...
•Shave my head
•Run 20 miles a day
•Sleep in a room with 5
other men
•Eat bugs and wild plants
Boot Camp!
Personal Responsibility for Bad
Outcomes
• Knowledge that one’s
actions have unnecessarily
hurt another.
– Natalie on p.236
Self-Affirmation to Dissipate
Dissonance
• I just did whatever
everyone else did
• If push comes to shove, I’ll
say it was my brother
• If I had known, I wouldn’t
have done it
• I could probably get away
with calling in sick...
Using Cognitive Dissonance to
your advantage
Persuasive Communication using the
theory
• Invoking dissonance
• Creating a wedge of
doubt or interest
• Encouraging change of
behavior
• Supporting/assuring after
change in attitude
Media Clips on Cognitive
Dissonance
• “Crazy in Alabama”
– a small town experiences an
incident that causes conflict and
promotes dissonance which is
handled differently by different
people
• “Secondhand Lions”
– Two rich old bachelors spend their
days in the country sitting on their
front porch and chasing away
door-to-door salesman until a
young man comes to live them