cognitive dissonance theory

dissonance

• discord

• incongruity

• stress

• psychologically uncomfortable

dissonance occurs when

• two cognitions (or thoughts) that are incongruent

  • i.e. “i think pigs make great pets” vs. “i like bacon”

• one cognition is incongruent with one behavior

  • i.e. “i want to live debt free” vs. making a purchase with a credit card

• two behaviors are incongruent

  • eating fast food after exercising at the gym

conditions for dissonance

1. decision-making that rules out a desirable alternative

2. expenditure of effort to participate in a less than ideal activity

3. inability to justify or explain incongruent thoughts or behaviors

4. the magnitude of dissonance

decision-making that rules out a desirable alternative

the feeling or judgement that there is no “good” decision available

• “i want to eat bacon but i also want pigs to live a long life as pets, i can’t have it both ways'“

expenditure of effort to participate in a less than ideal activity

the feeling or judgement that there is no “good” way to act

• “i want to live debt free but i also need to buy food that i cannot afford with money”

the magnitude of dissonance is impacted by the

• importance of cognitions & behaviors

• number of incongruent elements

how is dissonance resolved?

• the theory assumes that humans are motivated to reduce dissonance

• people can freely change their attitudes to shift incongruent cognitions & behaviors to congruent cognitions & behaviors

  • “i have decided that i don’t like bacon anymore, i love pigs too much”

induced compliance

1. when a person who engages in a behavior they have negative attitudes/counter-attitudes toward

2. then they are asked to communicate a justification for said behavior

3. the person develops & communicates positive attitudes about the task to resolve dissonance

4. others who hear this justification may now become more likely to engage in said behavior as well

dissonance & self image

thoughts & behaviors that are incongruent with the following items can also cause dissonance:

1. public image

2. self-image

3. self-esteem

4. public commitment

public image

what we think others see when they look at who we are

self-image

what we want others to see when they look at who we are

self-esteem

the perception of our self-worth

public commitment

the known actions we promised we will engage in

does pointing out someone else’s incongruous thoughts & behaviors work?

sometimes

another word for incongruous

hypocrisy

hypocrisy induction

when a persuader directly confronts a person with their incogruities

3 routes a person takes when they’re called out as a hypocrite

1. an effort to resolve incongruities

2. anger

3. avoidance/deflection

when inducing hypocrisy in others, consider

affirmation to motivate a change in incongruence

hypocrisy feels

threatening to our self-esteem & self-image

if we can reduce the threat by bolstering a person’s self-esteem…

they might be more likely to resolve their dissonance

• “you have achieved a lot in life, no one here is questioning your accomplishments. in fact, we are extremely impressed & look up to you!”