Incidentally, this discovery has motivated the conceptualization of the New Look Model (Cooper & Fazio, 1984) which defines cognitive dissonance as a state of neutral physiological arousal that may later be labelled positively or negatively (see also Schachter & Singer, 1962). While some data provided support for this conceptualization (e.g., Martinie et al., 2013), most scholars still consider the dissonance state to be aversive per nature. For instance, Leon Festinger called tension arising from two or more inconsistent cognitions cognitive dissonance.

In our opinion, developing an instrument assessing a specific affect, such as the CDS, requires understanding the precise nature and characteristics of this affect. However, the characteristics of the CDS are not well-understood today, aside from a general https://ecosoberhouse.com/ consensus that it should involve a form of negative arousal. For the purpose of developing a relevant instrument, we believe that there is much to gain from taking a step back and examining the characteristics of the CDS in a more global framework.

Counter-norm attitudes induced by consonant versus dissonant conditions of rote-playing

But individuals can reduce dissonance in a wide variety of ways, or they can experience dissonance and never reduce it. I, for example, still feel dissonance over writing this blog post promoting my new edited book. I do hope you will read it, and if you have any suggestions for how I should go about reducing dissonance, please share them.

Cognitive dissonance occurs frequently and to all of us (Harmon-Jones, 2019). Considering cognitive dissonance and intergenerational trauma may help avoid one-sided responses to the tragedy in the Middle East. According to Festinger, there are a few ways that a person might resolve this dissonance. The need to avoid incongruence can produce ugly habits in all of us, but it can also be used to guide others towards more positive practices. This desire for congruence offers us a key way of motivating ourselves and others – by uncovering inconsistencies, we can move each other closer to the people we aim to be.

An experimental analysis of self-persuasion

Aside from the misattribution paradigm, the most popular method to study the CDS is the use of self-report scales. Most scholars using self-report scales consider that the CDS is not felt as a general negative affect but is rather experienced as a specific psychological discomfort (Elliot & Devine, 1994). The theory of cognitive dissonance and its major experimental paradigms are described in this article. When an individual holds two or more elements of knowledge that are relevant to each other but inconsistent with one another, a state of discomfort or dissonance is created. Organisms are motivated by the state of dissonance and they may engage in ‘psychological work’ to reduce the inconsistency. Revisions to the original theory and their supporting research are then described.

Therefore, changes are more likely to happen in an element that is less resistant or less important (Cooper, 2007). An individual may fail to restore a consonance, if there is a lack of social support and new harmonious elements, or the existing problematic element is too satisfying (Harmon-Jones & Harmon-Jones, 2007). Attitude formation and change is a primary clinical task, as well as a major topic of social psychology research. Grounding clinical practice in psychological science requires incorporating what is known about attitude formation and change. Monroe and Read (2008) provided a general introduction to this topic and an explanation of the relevance of connectionist modeling.

Induced compliance

If that same person believes the COVID-19 pandemic is real but refuses to wear a mask, their values and behaviors would contradict each other. Read on to learn more about cognitive dissonance, including examples, signs a person might be experiencing it, causes, and how to resolve it. In other words, it seems that everyone does experience dissonance from time to time—but what causes dissonance for one person might not for someone else. Kunda and Thagard (1996) understand impression formation as a parallel constraint satisfaction problem, because the person needs to decipher and integrate perceived information into a network of preexisting knowledge concerning traits and behaviors. Understanding our mechanisms with which we reduce dissonance and recognizing when it occurs are key to making informed and constructive decisions.

According to social exchange theory, perceived benefits in the form of incentives to participate must outweigh the costs of participation (i.e., the time and effort to complete the survey). Perceived benefits include both material incentives like cash payments, free gifts or prize draws (extrinsic rewards) and intangible ones such as feelings of enjoyment or a sense of social contribution from participating in a worthwhile project (intrinsic rewards). Cognitive dissonance theory helps illuminate social incentives for survey completion. For example, when individuals consider themselves helpful, kind or generous, refusing to participate is incompatible with their self-perception.

Cognitive Dissonance Theory

Our studies did not find evidence of a role for Arousal or Dominance change, which suggest that these characteristic are less defining features of the dissonance state. While the sensitivity of the PAD scale seems moderate in regards to our results, we believe that cognitive dissonance scholars should continue to reconnect with general models of emotion to investigate the CDS. It is only by understanding the precise nature of the CDS that the field will be able to construct an internally consistent instrument for its assessment, a subject that has motivated more and more research in recent times (e.g., Levy, Harmon-Jones & Harmon-Jones, 2017). In our opinion, these studies are valuable as the psychological discomfort is supposed to be the core of the theory and the mediator of all cognitive dissonance.

• Festinger and Carlsmith (1959) conducted one of the first studies examining cognitive dissonance.
• Enhance wellbeing with these free, science-based exercises that draw on the latest insights from positive psychology.
• Being paid only $1 is not sufficient incentive for lying and so those who were paid $1 experienced dissonance.
• Cognitive dissonance occurs when a person holds two related but contradictory cognitions, or thoughts.

In other words, they rationalize the action they took by changing their attitudes. In other words, an individual can reduce the mental discomfort by changing the inconsistent cognitions, reducing the importance of conflicting elements, acquiring new harmonious elements or increasing the importance of the existing consistent elements. Festinger used the case of a habitual smoker to demonstrate the theory (Festinger, 1962). A smoker who knows that smoking is bad for health will experience dissonance, which causes mental discomfort, because the habit of smoking and the knowledge of how harmful smoking is are conflicting. First, the person could remove the dissonant cognition by either changing his behaviour (stop smoking) or knowledge (believe that smoking is actually not bad for health). Second, the person could reduce the importance of the dissonant cognition by thinking that the risk of getting lung cancer from smoking is lesser than being in a car accident.

Discussing discrepant behavior

More aimed at advanced researchers in cognitive dissonance, Harmon-Jones 2019 (the second edition of Harmon-Jones and Mills 1999) is an edited volume that synthesizes modern perspectives on dissonance. In Hafer and Gosse (2010), we discuss a number of potential situational determinants cognitive dissonance theory of how people defend BJW in the face of threat. Notice that dissonance theory does not state that these modes of dissonance reduction will actually work, only that individuals who are in a state of cognitive dissonance will take steps to reduce the extent of their dissonance.