Cognitive Dissonance Flashcards
Explain the theory of cognitive dissonance
Cognitive dissonance is the psychological discomfort you feel when there is a conflict between two of your beliefs, or when you act in a way that is inconsistent with your attitudes
What does cognitive dissonance motivate someone to do?
The uncomfortable feeling motivates us to reduce the cognitive dissonance in one way or another. The stronger the dissonance the higher the motivation to reduce it
What are the 3 effects of cognitive dissonance on behaviours
- Avoidance
- Reducation
- Rationalisation
What is avoidance?
Reducing cognitive dissonance by avoiding the situation, and people or things that remind them of the situation
What is reduction?
Reducing cognitive dissonance by distracting themselves with other tasks
What is rationalisation?
Justifying unnaceptable thoughts by disguising them through logical explanations
Name 3 responses to cognitive dissonance
- Change in behaviours
- Chane of beliefs
- Change perception of the action
What are strengths and limitations of the cognitive dissonance theory
Strength: Being testable by scientific means
Weakness: Can’t physically observe cognitive dissonance, so we can’t measure it. And there are individual differences to how people act as the theory predicts
What was the aim of the Festinger and Carlsmith ‘forced compliance’ study
Aimed at investigating if making people perform a dull task would create cognitive dissonance through “forced compliance”
What was the method of the Festinger and Carlsmith ‘forced compliance’ study
Made participants perform a boring task of turning wooden pegs 1/4 at a time for an hour. One group was paid $1 and the other was paid $20
What were the results of the Festinger and Carlsmith ‘forced compliance’ study
Participants who were paid $1 enjoyed the task more than the participants who were paid $20
Explain the results and conclusion of the Festinger and Carlsmith study and how it relates to cognitive dissonance
The group that got paid $20 has consistent cognitions “this is a boring task, but its worth the money” so there is no cognitive dissonance. But the $1 group has inconsistent cognitions “this is a boring task, its not worth the money” resulting in cognitive dissonance and a change in attitude. Meaning the $1 group forced themselves to believe that the task wasn’t boring.
