Aronson’s Revision of the idea of dissonance as an inconsistency between a person’s self-concept and a cognition about their behavior makes it seem likely that dissonance is really nothing more than guilt. Sometimes, resolving cognitive dissonance is just a matter of changing your perspective on something or developing new patterns of thinking to help you live according to what’s most important to you. But you also enjoy eating meat, though you know some animals are kept in inhumane conditions before being used for meat. You feel guilty but can’t afford to buy meat from pasture-raised or grass-fed animals. For example, the cognitive dissonance you might experience after choosing between two equally appealing options isn’t necessarily destructive unless you choose an option that will cause harm to yourself or someone else over an option that won’t. If both options are equally harmless, changing your beliefs to support the option you chose won’t have any long-term negative impacts.
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This mechanism of thought or attitude change is the same mechanism used to produce changes in negative, irrational thoughts that are involved in the maintenance of depression and related disorders. Although many studies have focused on a single dissonance reduction strategy (Festinger & Carlsmith, 1959; Aronson & Mills, 1959; Brehm, 1956), it is important to note that people may simultaneously adopt multiple strategies to counter the dissonance. For example, a recent study (Mahapatra & Mishra, 2021) showed that customers who faced post-consumption cognitive dissonance took multiple actions to negate the experienced psychological discomfort. They sought support from like-minded people and mentally disconnected from the negative situation to reduce the negative emotions. The formal application of https://ecosoberhouse.com/ to clinical intervention has been proposed by Cooper and colleagues (Cooper & Axsom, 1982).
Understanding all inconsistency compensation as a palliative response to violated expectations
They found that the dissonance-induction techniques did indeed produce significant reductions in thin-ideal internalization and bulimic pathology that were equivalent to those produced in the full intervention. Stice and colleagues found that reductions in thin-ideal internalization often preceded reductions in the negative outcome variables (i.e., body dissatisfaction, eating pathology) but only in the DBI group. From these results, we can conclude that DBIs work by changing thin-ideal internalization and that it is the change in internalization that leads cognitive dissonance theory to reductions in the other outcome variables. These results are significant because they provide support for the tripartite influence model in which internalization is a necessary component for the development of body dissatisfaction and subsequent bulimic pathology. Do people from non-Western cultures experience cognitive dissonance as well? Research seems to suggest that people from non-Western cultures do experience cognitive dissonance, but that the contexts that lead to feelings of dissonance might differ depending on cultural norms and values.
- Indeed, criticism of the group triggers aversion, so raising a thought-stopping barrier.
- Following Taylor and Fiske’s cognitive miser perspective, social perceivers were viewed as taking various mental shortcuts (below), schemas among them.
- Cooper and Fazio’s ‘New Look’ model (1984) proposed that dissonance resulted from creating unwanted aversive consequences and did not require cognitive inconsistency.
- News films (« clips ») can vary in length; there are some which may be as long as ten minutes, others that need to fit in all the relevant information and material in two or three minutes.
A Biosocial Model of Affective Decision Making
For example, in the realm of pet products, brands might emphasize the benefits of natural ingredients and enhanced pet health. This approach can make spending more on premium pet food appear less of an issue, thereby reducing the sense of dissonance. For example, people who hold strong beliefs about the detrimental impact of gas-powered cars on the environment might find it more comfortable to switch to a hybrid or electric vehicle.
Effects of Cognitive Dissonance
DBIs have been criticized on theoretical grounds for using a variety of mechanisms to produce outcome changes and not solely dissonance-induction techniques. For example, DBI also includes behavioral exposure and positive body affirmations, components of Cash’s cognitive behavioral therapy for body image disturbance, in addition to counter-attitudinal dissonance techniques. Roehrig and colleagues conducted a study to determine if the dissonance-induction techniques alone were sufficient to produce the changes observed in the full intervention (which included both the dissonance techniques and the behavioral techniques).
- Steele’s self-affirmation theory (1988) proposed that dissonance emerged from threats to the overarching self-system, and that dissonance reduction relied on re-establishing the integrity of the global self-concept.
- You tell yourself it’s OK since you’re taking care of your health in other ways.
- Cognitive dissonance theory aims to explain the relationships between the motivation, perceptions and cognitions of an individual.
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- Secondly, the self-affirmation model (Berkowitz, 1988) focused on the overall self-image of moral and adaptive adequacy as an alternative explanation for attitude change.
- To be independent thinkers, we need information from reputable sources, and the right to choose those sources for ourselves.
- Famous people are quoted, often without their permission and out of context, but in a way that supports the credibility of the group.
- Female participants were informed they would be helping out in a study funded by several manufacturers.
- The story is then edited by news or copy-editors (U.S. style) or sub-editors in Europe, who function from the news desk.