Commlecture[1]

Introduction to Cognitive Dissonance

Developed by Leon Festinger (1919-1989):

● PhD from the University of Iowa
● Winner of the American Psychological Association’s
Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award


How the idea of cognitive dissonance developed:
● Festinger studied a UFO cult in the 1950s.

● The group was led by Marian Keech, a homemaker who
believed that the earth would end on Dec. 21, 1954 and that
she (along with followers) would be rescued by aliens.

Even though the earth did not end, many of Keech’s followers
●
continued to believe strongly in her ideas.

Festinger’s question: Why did the cult members not reject
●
the ideas of their leader even after she was proven
wrong?



● Festinger studied earthquake rumors in India.

He noticed that people living outside where the
●
earthquake occurred spread rumors about even
greater earthquakes that had destroyed outlaying
regions

● Festinger’s question: Why did these false rumors

emerge and why did they spread so quickly?


● In 1957, Festinger published A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance.

● The theory seeks to explain what happens when people hold contradictory
cognitions (ideas):

Examples of cognitive dissonance:
* Believing the world will end and seeing the world has not ended.
* A mother, who believes that her son is a good boy, learns that he is a killer.

* A preacher, who thinks he is righteous, finds himself tempted to sin.
• A person who hates speeders finds that in order to not miss a flight, she has
to drive 85 mph.

Why study cognitive dissonance?

Understanding cognitive dissonance can help in crafting communication
campaigns aimed at curbing harmful behaviors:
A.
Almost everyone wants to live a long life. Yet, why do smokers continue to
smoke even after they learn that smoking kills?


B.
Almost everyone wants to live a long life. Yet, why do we continue to eat food
that clogs our arteries and can cause heart attacks?


C.
Almost everyone wants to live a long life. Yet, why do we continue to drink in
amounts that put us at risk and can even kill us?


D.
Almost everyone wants to live a long life. Yet, why do many continue to abuse
extremely dangerous drugs.

Example One

Michael Richards (aka Cosmo Kramer):
Became famous as Jerry Seinfeld’s harmless and wacky neighbor. A key
player in one of the most popular television shows of all time.

Example One

Sample performance that made him famous:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bH8f4Dg1Kv0

Alternate link: Click Krameronseinfeld.wmv in the presentation folder.

Example One

Was caught on camera hurling racist insults at African American audience
members.
Forced to go on television and apologize.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uul6COkTnNU

Alternate link: Click Kramerapology.wmv in in the presentation folder.

Example One


Cognitive Dissonance: fans were split on whether to support or reject
Kramer. Is he a bad guy or a good guy who made a mistake.
Debates were waged online.

Different ways people tried to resolve the dissonance:

Racism is not right no matter
You have to feel sorry for him
what the situation is.
at least a little, he's just a
However, the things that he
man who lost his cool and
said, i cant seem him just
went too far with his rage,.
loosing his temper...
That was some deep internal
It's sad that it will forever issue, i believe he is racists.
tarnish his career at least in His apology is wack, and not
most peoples opinions. acceptable.
Wrbraun, Youtube
Stellarbelz, Youtube

Example One


Different ways fans tried to resolve the dissonance:
Well, he did apologized, and This guy is a douche. I hope
like Jerry said quot;He deserves he never finds work again.
another chance, regardless Hecklers my a**, no excuse
of what he said and didquot; so for his s**. Plain and simple.
mcCoy22, Youtube
hey i'll give him another
chance yah know.. Smoker,
Youtube
you know your not sorry...
you meant what you said..
I think it was curagous for your just sorry you got
him to apologize in David caught...ur sorry ppl didnt
Lettermans show. I felt sorry take it as a joke. you dont
for him. He did look sincere, know that ur a racist..thats
he was trembling a lot. whats sad...it went on for a
Kressara, Youtube good 4 minutes.. you meant
what you said. n
Aquanetta, Youtube

The theory of cognitive dissonance & key concepts

A cognition: this is a piece of knowledge one has about something. It can be
knowledge about an attitude, an emotion, a behavior, or value etc.

An individual can hold multitude of cognitions simultaneously.

Work
School
Religion

Politics Family


Cognitive irrelevance: Most of the things that people know aren’t so closely
related. These ideas can operate together simultaneously in a state of cognitive
irrelevance that poses no challenges to the mind at all

I love pictures of
Kanye West’s cats
glasses are
interesting.


Cognitive consonance: one cognition follows from, or fits with, the other.
People like consonance among their cognitions. People appear to prefer
cognitions that fit together to those that do not.

Kim Kardashian is
Paris Hilton is not not a good role
a good role model model for my
for my young young daughter.
daughter.


Cognitive dissonance: Feeling which occurs when there is an imbalance
among cognitions. Psychological discomfort occurs.

I love my high That girl in my
school sweet communication
heart, she loves class is nice, is a
me, and I want my hottie, and she
long distance asked me to go
relationship to study with her at
work. She will call 7 pm tonight.
at 7 pm tonight.


Anxiety occurs when there is dissonance and where the cognitions are
●
deemed personally and socially significant.

A person who has dissonant cognitions experiences the unpleasant
●
sensation of dissonance as a psychological tension.

This tension state is as powerful as hunger or thirst.
●


Dissonance increases as the degree of discrepancy among cognitions
●
increases.
Dissonance increases as the number of discrepant cognitions increases.
●

Dissonance is inversely proportional to the number of consonant cognitions
●
held by an individual. In most cases in life, cognitions exist which support
certain aspects of an otherwise discrepant situation. The greater the
number of such consonant cognitions, the less the dissonance.

● Glaring discrepancies among trivial cognitions does not lead to much
dissonance.


Dissonance can be reduced in three ways:

Change: individuals can change attitudes, behavior, or beliefs etc to make
1.
the relationship between the dissonant cognitions consonant.

This type of dissonance reduction is difficult because well-learned behaviors
are hard to change.


Dissonance can be reduced in three ways:

2. Acquire new information that outweighs the dissonant cognitions:
Thinking smoking marijuana causes brain cell loss will cause
dissonance if a person smokes marijuana.

However, new information such as “research has not proved definitely that
smoking marijuana destroy brain cells” may reduce the dissonance.


Dissonance can be reduced in four ways:

3. Reduce the importance of the cognitions:
A person could convince herself that it is better to quot;live for todayquot; than to
quot;save for tomorrow.quot;

She could tell herself that a short life filled with sensual pleasures is better
than a long life devoid of such joys.

In this way, she would be decreasing the importance of the dissonant
cognition (“ careless spending is bad for a person’s futurequot;).

Example Two

Chris Brown:

Baby-faced music star re-known for his clean image, music, and lifestyle.

High-profile relationship with Rihanna, a fellow singer.

Example Two

Chris Brown:
Cultivated a good boy image. Called the “New Michael Jackson”
Loved by young and old female fans worldwide.
An example of his image building:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZE0J46QtJA

Alternate link: Click Chrisbrownmusicvideo..wmv in in the presentation folder.

Example Two

Chris Brown:
The image has been shattered by revelations that he severely beat Rihanna.
Numerous companies have canceled his endorsements.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjXwed8UamA

Alternate link: Click newsreport.wmv in the in the presentation folder.

Example Two

Chris Brown:

Cognitive Dissonance: fans are split on whether to support or reject
Chris Brown. Is he a bad guy or a good guy who made a mistake.
Debates are being waged online.

Different ways people are trying to resolve the dissonance:

As for Chris brown, an
And I truly support Chris
abuser is an abuser. He is a
Brown. I hope he can save
sick man and I hope she
himself, get the help he
stays the hell away from him.
needs, and one day be
forgiven.
My gut tells me this guy isn't She nor does anybody else
a wife beater, but let his rage deserve to be hit or verbally
take control , just like dad did abused or mentally abused.
when he was growing up. Theodore, Latimes.com
Supporter, Latimes.com

Example Two

Chris Brown:
Different ways people are trying to resolve the dissonance:

Chris Brown is has shown us
i dont think anybody should
that he is not a real man!! He
blame any thing on chris
has shown us that he is very
brown because she had to
weak and childish, he really
provoke him to hitting her
needs to get counseling.
and she I heard that she
Zak, Latimes.com
actually threw his keys out
the window Jada, Latimes.com

people forget that there is
That little pretty boy should
violence against men too..
try squaring off with a real
women can get really mad
man from the shoulders
too, rihanna hit chris first, he
instead of putting his hands
flashed back to when his
on a woman. I don't care
mom would get hit and it
WHAT the reason, a man has
brought out anger. im not
no justification for striking a
mad at him for it, he was
female. Laura, Latimes.com
acting in self defense
Jada, Latimes.com

Example Three

Festinger and Carlsmith (1959)
Method:
71 students were asked to perform dull tasks. They were paid
either $1 or $20 to tell a waiting participant that the tasks were
really interesting.

Results:
Participants who were paid only $1 rated the tedious task as more
fun and enjoyable than the participants who were paid $20 to lie.

Conclusion:
Being paid only $1 is not sufficient incentive for lying and so those
who were paid $1 experienced dissonance.
They could only overcome that dissonance by coming to believe
that the tasks really were interesting and enjoyable.
Being paid $20 provides a reason for turning pegs and there is
therefore no dissonance.

Example Three

Aronson & Mills (1959)

Method: Female students volunteered to take part in a discussion on
the psychology of sex.

Mild embarrassment condition: participants read aloud to a male
experimenter a list of sex-related words like 'virgin' and 'prostitute'.

Severe embarrassment condition: read aloud obscene words and a
very explicit sexual passage.

Control condition: they went straight into the main study.
In all conditions they then heard a very boring discussion about sex in
lower animals. They were asked to rate how interesting they had
found the discussion, and how interesting they had found the people
involved.

Example Three

Aronson & Mills (1959)

Conclusion:
Participants in the 'severe embarrassment' condition gave the most
positive rating.
If a voluntary experience which has cost a lot of effort turns out badly,
dissonance is reduced by redefining the experience as interesting.
This justifies the effort made

Commlecture[1]

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (20)

Viewers also liked

Viewers also liked (20)

Similar to Commlecture[1]

Similar to Commlecture[1] (18)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

Commlecture[1]