Social T4 Flashcards
Cognitive dissonance as a public communication strategy Fear or morality appeals:
Adding dissonant cognitions (or drawing attention to them) to change attitudes and behaviour
Dual process model identifies two modes of decision-making (Kahneman, 2003)
- System 1: impulsive, fast, difficult to modify or control (more likely periphiral route to persuasion)
- System 2: slow, effortful, guides behaviours through long-term goals and in-depth logic. (central route to persuasion)
Explain Cognitive Dissonance and resolution using the following.
Belief: Monogamy is an important feature of my marriage. Problem: I’m having an affair. I don’t like experiencing this nagging and uncomfortable cognitive dissonance. I’m on edge.
Changing a belief: changing one or more of the inconsistent cognitions ‘What’s wrong with continuing if no one finds out?’ This can be facilitated by derogating the source of one of the cognitions: ‘Fidelity is a construct of religious indoctrination’.
Changing an action: Stop having the affair.
Changing the perception of the action: ‘My partner doesn’t understand me, so this was always going to happen’, which can again be facilitated by challenging the original perception of the action. ‘Fidelity is a construct of religious indoctrination and isn’t necessarily an ideal to aspire to. Extramarital activity is not indisputably wrong’.
What is the maxim of cognitive dissonance model?
➜ The maxim appears to be: The greater the dissonance, the stronger the attempts to reduce it.
Festinger and Carlsmith (1959) findings on cognitive dissonance
Those paid less ($1) reported more positive attitudes towards task
Festinger and Carlsmith (1959) study on cognitive dissonance
Completed boring task for 30 minutes Paid $1 or $20 to convince fellow student that task was funControl group not asked to convince anyone later had to rate (task enjoyment, scientific importance and their willingness to participate in similar studies)
How does Festinger 1957 define cognitive dissonance
unpleasant state of psychological tension generated when a person has two or more cognitions (bits of information) that are inconsistent or do not fit together.
How might Bem’s self-perception theory offer a better explanation to cognitive dissonance resolution?
Attitudes may be changed through a self-attributional process when the behaviour falls within a range of personally acceptable conduct. So when someone acts outside of this range of acceptable behaviour cognitive dissonance resolution accont better for attitude change
What and by whom is the Elaboration likelihood model ELM
Petty & Cacioppo (1984) Dual process theory of cognitive (thinking) elaboration
What are the two options when neither favourable nor unfavourable thoughts dominate the cognitive elaboration and information is processed through the peripheral route?
.
What are two challenges of Cognitive dissonance
Dissonance was not as easy to create as Festinger had outlined Bem’s (1972) self- perception theory may provide a more robust explanation in some cases
What is cognitive consistency theory?
people try to maintain internal consistency, order and agreement among their various cognitions.
What is cognitive dissonance (Festinger, 1957)
an unpleasant state of psychological tension generated when a person has two or more cognitions that are inconsistent or do not fit together.
Where does cognitive dissonance follow from in Festinger and Carlsmith (1959) experiment
Dissonance follows from the fact that you have agreed to say things about what you have experienced when you know that the opposite is true. You have been induced to behave in a counter-attitudinal way
What is the central route governed by?
motivation and ability
