Define dissonance
An unpleasant internal state that results when people notice inconsistencies between their:
- attitudes
- beliefs
- behaviours
Name the causes of dissonance
- 2 Dissonant attitudes (e.g. pro environemnt but also pro plane travel to NZ)
- appetence- appetence conflict (e.g. can afford only one of two psychology books)
- attitude-discrepant behaviour (e.g. smoking and health attitudes)
Name an example situation, running through the focal cognition, the dissonant cognition and the consonant cognition.
Focal: I smoke
Dissonant: smoking causes cancer
Consonant: smoking relaxes me
How to people reduce dissonance?
- attitude/bheaviour change
- adding new consonant information/focus on consonant information
- downplaying/trivializing the dissonant cognition
- indirect: distraction
Dissonance theory explains…
- post-decision dissonance
- effort justification effects
- effects of induced compliance (less-leads-to-more effect)
- overjustification effect
When does post-decision dissonance occur?
- choosing between several alternatives
- implies rejecting one or more of them
What induces post-decision dissonance?
- positive features of the rejected alternatives
- negative features of the accepted
BREHM (1956)
“Consumer Testing”
Factors affecting Post-Decision Dissonance (PDD)
- importance of decision (high expense in terms of money/time)
- similarity (relative attractiveness, actual similarity)
- certainty of decision (is it irrevokable)
What is Effort Justification?
The state of dissonance after large effort expenditure, the results of which we aren’t satisfied with
Reduction of Effort Justification
- downplaying the effort
- convincing ourselves we like what we achieved
ARONSON & MILLS (1959)
- Sexual discussion group
- membership contingent on “screening test” either mild or severe initiation
- after listening in for one week
- dull discussion
- asked to rate the other participants
RESULTS:
-the more severe the initiation, the higher the group was rated
What is induced compliance?
Inducing people to behave in a way that is inconsistent with their attitudes
i.e. to engage in counter-attitudinal behaviour
When might induced compliance NOT result in a state of dissonance?
When external justification is involved e.g. reward money
Less leads to more
Via self-persuasion
- a long-lasting form of attitude change that results from attempts at self-justification
large reward -> external justification (I do this because I have to) -> temporary change
small reward/ no reward -> internal justification (I do this beacuase it is right) -> lasting change
FREEDMAN 1965
The Power of Mild Punishment
- children rate the attractiveness of toys
- one of the most attractive toys is then declared as “forbidden”
- children were threatened with either mild or severe punishment if they played with the toy
- when left alone, the most children who ended up playing with the toy had been warned with a severe punishment
- the mild punishment was more effective
Moderating Factors
- free choice (counter-attitudinal behaviour must be freely chosen)
- commitment (reduced effects for revocable decisions)
- negative consequences
- personal responsibility
What kinds of methods of dissonance reduction are there?
— change of behavior — downplaying the importance/danger — Focus on consonant information — change of perspective — distraction
