COGNITIVE DISSONANCE THEORY

Cognitive Dissonance Theory

Cognitive Dissonance Theory

Introduction

Cognitive dissonance is an arousing state that happens when we notice discrepancies between our behavior and our attitudes. Certainly, experiencing dissonance does produce negative affect and feelings change.

Cognitive dissonance theory was proposed by Festinger (1957) and, over 40 years later, it continues to draw considerable attention (the most up-to-date, all-encompassing reference source is Harmon-Jones and Mills, forthcoming). It is frequently cast within the same conceptual school as other consistency theories, for instance Osgood and Tannenbaum's theory of congruity and attitude change, or Heider's balance-theory analysis of attitudes and cognitive organization (Steinbruner, 2004: 99). But there is a deciding part in Cognitive Dissonance Theory that sets it apart from the other uniformity formulations, a factor that has led to its immense expansion, both in theoretical tests and in direct applications. This is the idea that cognitive dissonance is a motivated state, and one which drives the individual to regain cognitive consistency by taking the path that is least resistant to change.

Discussion

Festinger defined dissonance as the reality of non-fitting relations among cognitions. After noting that persons feel cognitive dissonance because they are not in control of the information they obtain and because many things are inclined to be a combination of contradictions, Festinger (1957: 3) advanced two basic hypotheses:

The reality of dissonance, being emotionally unpleasant, will stimulate the individual to attempt to decrease the dissonance and attain consonance.

When dissonance is there, besides attempting to decrease it the individual will vigorously keep away from information and situations that can boost the dissonance. (Elliot 1994, 382-394)

His book elaborated these hypotheses and many subsidiary ones, and a lesser- known volume reporting experimental investigations of them appeared some years later (Festinger, 1964). It is not surprising that attempts have been made to frame economic behaviour in terms of strategies aimed at reducing cognitive dissonance. Many of Festinger's own illustrative scenarios actually concern economic situations, for instance the trials of car ownership, employment choices, decisions not to give up smoking, or even minor decisions about whether to continue on a picnic expedition in the face of gathering clouds. Many of his situations complement those used in the literature on rise of commitment which challenges orthodox economic thinking on the significance of sunk costs. (Harmon-Jones, 1999)

The application of Festinger's notion to such economic contexts illustrates how a simple cognitive inconsistency principle is insufficient to account for the phenomenon. For instance, suppose that persons voluntarily switch from normal telephones to cellular telephones, knowing full well that there can be some enhanced chance of incurring brain cancer. There is a cognitive discrepancy between, on the one hand, having adopted cellular telephones on the basis of their advantages and, on the other hand, knowing the health risks. Cognitive Dissonance Theory is unique in predicting that dissonance reduction will be guided by whatever cognition is least resistant to change. As Festinger (1957: 28) puts it,

As the theory has developed (Brehm and Cohen, 2002; Wicklund and Brehm, 2006), research and applications have supposed ...