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Festinger's theory of cognitive dissonance and practical application. Cognitive dissonance - what is this concept in psychology? Festinger's theory of cognitive dissonance. Fighting with your own self

The theory of cognitive dissonance (from the English cognition - knowledge, dissonance - inconsistency) is a socio-psychological theory created by the American psychologist L. Festinger, in which logically contradictory knowledge about the same subject is assigned the status of motivation, designed to ensure the elimination of what arises in a collision with the contradictions of feeling discomfort due to changes in existing knowledge or social attitudes. In the theory of cognitive dissonance, it is believed that there is a body of knowledge about objects and people, called the cognitive system, which can have varying degrees of complexity, coherence and interconnectedness. Moreover, the complexity of a cognitive system depends on the amount and variety of knowledge included in it.

The term cognitive dissonance refers to any discrepancy between cognitions (that is, between any knowledge, opinions or beliefs related to the environment, someone or someone's behavior). The appearance of dissonance, being psychologically uncomfortable, forces a person to try to reduce it and achieve consonance (correspondence of cognitions). In addition, in the presence of dissonance, a person actively avoids situations and information that could lead to its increase.

Speaking about Leon Festinger's theory of dissonance, it is customary to give the example of a smoker: a person smokes, but at the same time he knows that smoking is harmful. He experiences cognitive dissonance, which can be overcome in three ways:

1. Change your behavior, that is, quit smoking;

2. Change knowledge, that is, convince yourself that all discussions about the dangers of smoking at least exaggerate the danger, or are even completely unreliable;

3. Ignore information about the dangers of smoking.

IN modern psychology The theory of cognitive dissonance is often used to explain a person’s actions and actions in various social situations. Emotions are considered as the main motive for corresponding actions and deeds. The underlying cognitive factors are given a much greater role in determining human behavior than organic changes.

The dominant cognitivist orientation of modern psychological research led to the fact that conscious assessments that a person gives to a situation were also considered as emotional factors. It is believed that such assessments directly influence the nature of the emotional experience.

Leon Festinger formulates two main hypotheses of his theory:

If dissonance occurs, the individual will strive with all his might to reduce the degree of discrepancy between his two attitudes, trying to achieve consonance (correspondence). This occurs due to the fact that dissonance gives rise to “psychological discomfort.”

The second hypothesis, emphasizing the first, says that, in an effort to reduce the discomfort that has arisen, the individual will try to avoid situations in which discomfort may increase.

The emergence of dissonance[edit | edit source text]

Dissonance can appear for various reasons:

due to logical inconsistency;

“due to cultural customs”;

in the event that an individual opinion is not part of a broader opinion;

due to the inconsistency of past experience relative to the present situation.

Cognitive dissonance occurs due to a discrepancy between two cognitions (knowledge) of an individual. An individual, having information on any issue, is forced to neglect it when making a decision. As a result, a discrepancy (dissonance) arises between a person’s attitudes and his actual actions. [ source not specified 329 days ]

As a result of such behavior, there is a change in certain (which the situation influences in one way or another) person’s attitudes, and this change can be justified based on the fact that it is vital for a person to maintain the consistency of his knowledge.

Therefore, people are ready to justify their delusions: a person who has committed an offense or mistake is inclined to justify himself in his thoughts, gradually shifting his beliefs about what happened towards the fact that what happened was actually not so terrible. In this way, the individual “regulates” his thinking in order to reduce the conflict within himself.

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Introduction

Conclusion

Introduction

Leon Festinger formulated the theory of cognitive dissonance. He says that the occurrence of dissonance motivates the individual to reduce the degree of dissonance and, if possible, achieve consonance. In addition to this desire to reduce dissonance, the individual tends to avoid situations and information that may lead to an increase in the degree of dissonance.

The author understands cognitive dissonance as a condition that leads to actions aimed at reducing it. Festinger says that dissonance can arise in situations when a person becomes an eyewitness to some unpredictable events or when he learns new information.

According to Festinger positive emotions arise only when there is no cognitive dissonance between the outcome of a situation and how that outcome was represented in the individual's mind, and negative or negative emotions arise when there is cognitive dissonance...

1. Basics of the theory of cognitive dissonance

The theory of cognitive dissonance, created in 1957, was for its author a continuation of the development of the idea of “social comparison”, which Festinger had dealt with much earlier. In this area, Festinger acts as a student and follower of Lewin. The initial concept for it is the concept of need, and it analyzes special kind needs, namely “the need to evaluate oneself” (“evaluative need”), i.e. the desire to evaluate one’s opinions and abilities, first of all, (subsequently, Festinger’s follower Schechter extended the principle of comparison to the assessment of emotions as well). Along the way, Festinger notes that minimal dissimilarity of opinions leads to conformism - a person easily changes an opinion that is slightly different from others in order to bring his opinion completely closer to the opinion of the group.

At the same time, unlike other theories of correspondence, Festinger’s theory nowhere places emphasis specifically on social behavior and, moreover, its fate was more dramatic than that of any other correspondence theory. The theory of cognitive dissonance has stimulated significantly large quantity research, and in this sense its popularity is much higher than others, but at the same time the opposition to it turned out to be much stronger. It is also important to note that the theory of cognitive dissonance has a very solid “literature”: firstly, it is described in great detail by the author himself in the 1957 work “The Theory of Cognitive Dissonance” and, secondly, it received a huge response in the works of many representatives of Western social psychology, so it is possible, perhaps, to record special “literature on the theory of dissonance”, which is a critical analysis of this theory, often line-by-line comments on it, and sometimes very sharp polemics with it

Festinger himself begins the presentation of his theory with the following reasoning: it has been noticed that people strive for some consistency as a desired internal state. If a contradiction arises between what a person knows and what he does, then they strive to somehow explain this contradiction and, most likely, present it as non-contradiction in order to again achieve a state of internal cognitive consistency. Next, Festinger proposes to replace the terms “contradiction” with “dissonance” and “coherence” with “consonance”, since this last pair of terms seems to him more “neutral”, and now formulate the main provisions of the theory.

It can be stated in three main points:

1) dissonance may arise between cognitive elements;

2) the existence of dissonance causes a desire to reduce it or prevent its growth;

3) the manifestation of this desire includes: either a change in behavior, or a change in knowledge, or a cautious attitude towards new information.

As an example, the now familiar example of a smoker is usually given: a person smokes, but at the same time knows that smoking is harmful; he experiences dissonance, from which there are three ways to get out:

1) change behavior, i.e. quit smoking;

2) change knowledge, in this case - convince yourself that all discussions and articles about the dangers of smoking are at least unreliable and exaggerate the danger;

3) be careful about new information regarding the harm of smoking, i.e. simply ignore her.

Before further expounding the content of Festinger's theory, it is necessary to more precisely define the terms being introduced. Firstly, the main units in the theory of dissonance are “cognitive elements”, which, let us recall, were defined by the author of the theory as “any knowledge, opinion, belief regarding the environment, someone, someone’s behavior or oneself.”

Secondly, among all these cognitive elements, or “cognitions,” it is necessary to distinguish between two types: those related to behavior (no matter whose) and those related to the environment. An example of the first is “I’m going on a picnic today,” an example of the second is “ it's raining". the two continue to coexist different interpretations this question.

Thirdly, the theory of dissonance does not consider any relationship between cognitive elements, because in principle there can be three of them:

1) the absolute lack of connection between them, their irrelevance to each other (for example, the knowledge that it never snows in Florida, and that some planes fly above the speed of sound);

2) relations of consonance;

3) relations of dissonance.

The theory considers only the last two types of relations between cognitive elements, and, naturally, the main attention is paid to dissonant relations. Here is Festinger's own formulation of what a dissonant relation is: "Two elements X and Y are in a dissonant relation if, when considered in isolation, the negation of one follows from the other, namely, not-X follows from Y." Example: a person is in debt (Y), but buys a new, expensive car (X). Here dissonant relations arise, since from Y (the fact that a person is a debtor) some action X appropriate in this case should follow, and then consonance would be observed. In the above case, an action different from the “reasonable” option (“not-X”) follows, i.e. the purchase of an expensive car is not appropriate for the circumstances, which is why dissonance arises.

2. Causes and magnitude of dissonance

The category of "following" is a category of logic; V modern systems mathematical logic has a special symbolic designation of following - there the expression “should” has a very definite logical meaning. Festinger introduces a different interpretation of following, which includes not only a logical, but also a psychological understanding of this relationship.

Explaining what the expression “follows from” means in his formula, Festinger suggests four sources of possible dissonance:

1) from logical inconsistency, i.e. when “following “not-X” from “Y”” is proof of the purely logical inconsistency of two judgments as cognitive elements.

2) from the discrepancy between cognitive elements and cultural patterns, or, in other words, norms.

3) from the inconsistency of a given cognitive element with some broader system of ideas.

4) from inconsistency with past experience.

All three last cases of dissonance are based on a different nature of “non-following” than is accepted in logic.

3. Ways to reduce dissonance

1) Changing the behavioral elements of the cognitive structure.

2) Changes in cognitive elements related to the environment.

3) Adding new elements to the cognitive structure, only those that help reduce dissonance.

Festinger describes very carefully in his work a large number of experiments that study various factors, helping to reduce dissonance after making a decision.

In particular, there is a well-known study by Brem (1956), when he gave subjects alternative solutions and asked them to choose one of them. After some time, they were asked to evaluate both the chosen and rejected solutions. In all cases, the selected solutions were rated higher than the rejected ones. Aronson and Mills (1957) created a situation in which subjects spent some effort to join a certain group, after which they became convinced that the group was “bad”. The subjects reduced the resulting dissonance by trying to identify or simply “see” the positive characteristics of the group and evaluate it higher. Aronson and Carlsmith (1963) conducted an experiment with children from whom a toy was taken away and even punished for using this toy. As a result, children began to especially love this toy. These and numerous other experiments are usually regarded as evidence of the productivity of the dissonance theory. It was during these experiments that many of the theories were further developed.

Thus, Festinger supplements it with an analysis of such phenomena as forced consent, when dissonance is generated by the presence of a threat or the prospect of punishment, forced informational influence, which also contributes to the emergence or maintenance of dissonance. A special place is occupied by the study of the role social support created in a group where disagreements occur, and one of the positions contributes to either strengthening or weakening the dissonance. In this regard, Festinger moves on to analyze a number of “macro-phenomena”: the role of rumors in society, mass conversion and other forms of social influence. All this indicates the significance and importance of the theory of cognitive dissonance. cognitive dissonance emotional experience

True, the experiments themselves, in which individual hypotheses are tested, are not rigorous enough and are vulnerable in many respects. Aronson has a rather peculiar “justification” for them. He believes that many of the errors in dissonance theory arise from more general methodological difficulties in social psychological experimentation. “This weakness,” writes Aronson, “is hardly the fault of the theory. Methodological difficulties concern all theories that predict social-psychological phenomena. They are associated with the theory of dissonance simply because it is the theory that produces the maximum amount of research.” These difficulties general plan do exist, and one can agree with Aronson in characterizing some of them (for example, the lack of standardized techniques for operationalizing concepts in social psychology, the fact that alternative explanations for empirical results are possible and quite common, etc.). But all this really common problems social psychology, so bringing them as an argument when analyzing one specific theory although appropriate, it is clearly not enough.

Conclusion

So, according to L. Festinger’s theory of cognitive dissonance, positive emotional experiences arise in a person when his expectations are confirmed and cognitive ideas come true, i.e. when the real results of activity correspond to the intended ones, are consistent with them, or, what is the same, are in consonance. Negative emotions arise and intensify in cases where between expected and valid results activity there is a discrepancy, inconsistency, dissonance.

In modern psychology, the theory of cognitive dissonance is often used to explain a person’s actions and actions in various social situations. Emotions are considered as the main motive for corresponding actions and deeds. The dominant cognitivist orientation of modern psychological research has led to the fact that conscious assessments that a person gives to a situation are also considered as emotional factors. It is believed that such assessments directly influence the nature of the emotional experience.

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Meaning of the concept

Cognitive dissonance is psychological phenomenon, which is accompanied by the emergence of some discrepancy between the two cognitions. Thus, often in his actions a person has to either neglect social guidelines or sacrifice personal principles. Because of this, a certain disagreement arises between action and belief.

As a result of the onset of cognitive dissonance, a person may resort to justifying his own actions or misconceptions that run counter to generally accepted norms. Otherwise, the individual has to direct his thinking in a new direction, which would correspond to the opinions of others and reduce contradictory feelings.

Cognitive dissonance - what is it in simple words?

Many psychological concepts and the terms are not so easy to understand and understand their meaning. Sometimes detailed explanation is required. This also applies to such a phenomenon as cognitive dissonance. What is this in simple words? The explanation of this concept is much simpler than it might seem at first glance.

Each person has some kind of life experience and personal opinion regarding the solution of certain situations. However, it is not always possible to solve a particular problem based on one’s own ideas. Sometimes a person goes against his own opinion, for example, to please the opinions of others, social values, or the norms of the law. This discrepancy between thoughts and actions is called cognitive dissonance.

Sometimes it happens that an individual consciously or unconsciously violates certain rules (or even commits a crime). In this case, it is important to receive justification not only from others, but also from yourself. Thus, a person begins to look for or invent moments that can mitigate guilt in order to ease internal contradiction. It is also worth noting that such contradictions can arise not only among one individual, but also at the level of the collective.

Cognitive dissonance also often occurs when a person has to accept important decision. The individual is overcome by doubts that do not go away even when the final choice is made. Mental activity for some time will be aimed at sorting through possible options and their consequences in your head.

Causes of cognitive dissonance

Cognitive dissonance can arise due to several common reasons, among which the following are worth highlighting:

inconsistency of ideas and concepts that guide a person when making certain decisions;
discrepancy between life beliefs and generally accepted norms in society or in a certain circle;
a spirit of contradiction caused by a reluctance to follow generally accepted cultural and ethical standards, and especially when they go against the law;
discrepancy between the information obtained as a result of a particular experience and new conditions or situation.

Author of the theory

The author of the theory of cognitive dissonance is Leon Festinger. This doctrine was presented in 1957 and was intended to explain the essence, causes, and patterns this phenomenon. The author considered this concept as a phenomenon of inconsistency between various thoughts and ideas of an individual (or a group).

Watch the video: "Leon Festinger's Theory of Cognitive Dissonance"

Hypotheses of the theory

L. Festinger's theory of cognitive dissonance is based on two main hypotheses, which are as follows:

due to the fact that the occurrence of cognitive dissonance is accompanied by psychological discomfort, the individual will try in every possible way to overcome this discrepancy;
from the first point we can derive the second, which states that a person will in every possible way avoid situations that could plunge him into such a state.

Festinger's theory of cognitive dissonance not only provides an interpretation and clarification of concepts, but also explains ways out of this state. In addition, the scientist considers a number real cases which are the most typical examples in psychology.

The essence of the theory

The first thing worth noting is the fact that the theory of cognitive dissonance belongs to the category of motivational ones. It means that this state is decisive in the behavior of an individual. We can say that it is ideas and beliefs that largely influence a person’s actions, as well as his life position. Thus, knowledge cannot be interpreted only as a set of certain facts. These are primarily motivational factors that determine human behavior in both Everyday life, and in non-standard situations.

The concept of cognitive dissonance combines two categories. The first of them is intelligence, which is considered as a set of certain beliefs and knowledge, as well as attitudes towards them. The second is affect, that is, the reaction to pathogens and stimuli. At the very moment when a person ceases to find a connection or feels internal contradictions between these categories, a state of cognitive dissonance occurs.

The process itself is inextricably linked with past events and experiences of the individual. So, having committed a certain act, a person may begin to repent or experience remorse. Moreover, this can happen after a significant period of time. Then the individual begins to look for an excuse for his action or some facts that can mitigate his guilt.

How to reduce dissonance?

The state of cognitive dissonance causes psychological discomfort, which the individual, quite naturally, tries to get rid of (or at least somewhat reduce the unpleasant sensations). There are several ways to achieve relief from a contradictory condition, namely:

change the line of your behavior (if you feel that you are doing wrong, or are acting contrary to your beliefs, you should direct your efforts in the opposite direction, if this seems possible in this particular case);
convince yourself (meaning the search for justification for your actions in order to reduce their guilt or even make them correct in your understanding);
filter information (in order not to feel internal contradictions, you should perceive only positive data, and not take all negativity seriously or avoid it altogether);
take into account all the information and facts about the current situation, form an idea about it, and then build a new line of behavior that will be considered the only correct one.

How to avoid dissonance

Since the phenomenon of cognitive dissonance is associated with discomfort and psychological stress, many prefer to prevent this condition rather than deal with its consequences later. One of the most accessible ways to achieve this is to avoid any negative information that may contradict your personal beliefs or the current situation. This method fits into the concept psychological protection, which was developed by Sigmund Freud and later developed by his followers.

In the case where the occurrence of cognitive dissonance could not be avoided, you can fight it further development. To do this, the cognitive system is introduced additional elements, which are intended to present the current situation in a positive light. In this case, you need to ignore or in every possible way avoid those sources of information that can return you to the initial state.

One of the most common and accessible ways to cope with dissonance is to accept reality and adapt to it. In this regard, it is worth convincing yourself that the situation is acceptable. In addition, if the phenomenon is long-term, then psychological work should be aimed at changing one's own beliefs

Cognitive dissonance: examples from life

In real life, quite often you can encounter such phenomena that cause a feeling of inconsistency or inconsistency of beliefs with the real situation. This is cognitive dissonance. Their examples are quite numerous.

The simplest example is a gold medalist and a C student who entered the university. It is quite logical that teachers expect high results and a decent level of knowledge from the first, but do not have much hope for the second. However, it may turn out that an excellent student will answer the question very mediocrely and incompletely, while a C student, on the contrary, will give a competent, meaningful answer. In this case, the teacher experiences cognitive dissonance due to the fact that his beliefs turned out to be inconsistent with the real situation.

Another example given by psychologist A. Leontyev illustrates the desire to reduce discomfort. Thus, imprisoned revolutionaries were forced to dig holes as punishment. Naturally, the prisoners found this activity unpleasant and even disgusting. To reduce the feeling of psychological discomfort, many gave their actions new meaning, namely, causing harm to the current regime.

Also, cognitive dissonance can be considered in relation to people who have bad habits (for example, smokers, or those who abuse alcohol. It is quite natural that they all sooner or later realize the harm of these phenomena for their body. In this case, there are two scenarios. Either the individual tries everything accessible ways get rid of bad habit, or begins to look for excuses for himself, which in his mind can outweigh possible harm which will be detrimental to health.

Another example is also related to the typical life situation. So, for example, you see a beggar on the street who is asking for alms, but according to him appearance you can say that he doesn’t really deserve the money or doesn’t need it that much (or maybe he will spend it not on food or medicine, but on alcohol or cigarettes). Nevertheless, under the influence of their life principles or moral standards you cannot pass by such a person. Thus, under the guidance of social principles, you do what you do not want.

Sometimes it happens that before an important exam, a student simply does not prepare for it. This may be due to laziness, health conditions, unforeseen circumstances, and so on. Thus, understanding your responsibility for the result and realizing possible consequences, the individual, however, makes no attempt to learn the notes.

Girls who strive to lose weight and torment themselves with diets are often exposed to cognitive dissonance. If at this time they want to eat, for example, a cake, then this will contradict their goals and general ideas O proper nutrition. There are several possible solutions to the problem here. You can continue to insist on your own and deny yourself sweets, or you can stop the diet altogether, making sure that you already look good. You can also make yourself a one-time indulgence, which will later be compensated by fasting or physical activity.

Conclusion

Many scientists and psychologists have studied the issue of cognitive dissonance. It is especially worth paying attention to the works of Leon Festinger, as well as Sigmund Freud and his followers. Their theories are the most complete and contain not only information about the phenomenon itself and its causes, but also about ways to solve the problem.

It is worth noting that the theory that describes the phenomenon of cognitive dissonance relates to motivational ones. The contradiction that arises as a result of the discrepancy between beliefs and desires and real actions largely influences what the individual’s behavior will be in the future. He can come to terms with the situation and try to reconsider his ideas, which will somewhat reduce the state of dissonance, or he can resort to attempts to explain or justify his behavior, avoiding real data and facts (protecting himself from the outside world).

To avoid a state of cognitive dissonance, you should avoid contradictory states and information that contradicts your beliefs. In this way, you can protect yourself from internal contradictions that arise from the need to act contrary to your desires and beliefs.

Theory cognitive dissonance L. Festinger argues that a positive emotional experience occurs in a person when his expectations are confirmed and cognitive ideas come true, i.e. when the real results of activity correspond to the intended ones, are consistent with them, or, what is the same, are in consonance. Negative emotions arise and intensify in cases where there is a discrepancy, inconsistency or dissonance between the expected and actual results of activity.

Subjectively, a person usually experiences a state of cognitive dissonance as discomfort, and he strives to get rid of it as soon as possible. The way out of the state of cognitive dissonance can be twofold: either change cognitive expectations and plans so that they correspond to the actual result obtained, or try to get new result, which would be consistent with previous expectations.

In modern psychology, the theory of cognitive dissonance is often used to explain a person’s actions and actions in various social situations. Emotions are considered as the main motive for corresponding actions and deeds. The underlying cognitive factors are given a much greater role in determining human behavior than organic changes.

The dominant cognitivist orientation of modern psychological research has led to the fact that conscious assessments that a person gives to a situation are also considered as emotional factors. It is believed that such assessments directly influence the nature of the emotional experience.

Cognitive dissonance theory

The theory of cognitive dissonance (from the English cognition - knowledge, dissonance - inconsistency) is a socio-psychological theory created by the American psychologist L. Festinger, in which logically contradictory knowledge about the same subject is assigned the status of motivation, designed to ensure the elimination of what arises when faced with contradictions of feelings of discomfort due to changes in existing knowledge or social attitudes. In the theory of cognitive dissonance, it is believed that there is a body of knowledge about objects and people, called the cognitive system, which can have varying degrees of complexity, coherence and interconnectedness. Moreover, the complexity of a cognitive system depends on the amount and variety of knowledge included in it.

1. Change your behavior, that is, quit smoking;

2. Change knowledge, that is, convince yourself that all discussions about the dangers of smoking at least exaggerate the danger, or are even completely unreliable;

3. Ignore information about the dangers of smoking.

In modern psychology, the theory of cognitive dissonance is often used to explain a person’s actions and actions in various social situations. Emotions are considered as the main motive for corresponding actions and deeds. The underlying cognitive factors are given a much greater role in determining human behavior than organic changes.

Cognitive dissonance according to Festinger

2.1 General provisions

Cognition is interpreted by Festinger quite broadly: cognition is any knowledge, opinion or belief concerning the environment, oneself or one’s own behavior. Dissonance is experienced by the individual as a state of discomfort. She strives to get rid of it and restore internal cognitive harmony. And it is this desire that is a powerful motivating factor in human behavior and attitude towards the world.

A state of dissonance between cognitions X and Y occurs when cognition X does not imply Y. A state of consonance between X and Y, on the other hand, exists when X implies Y. A person strives for internal consistency, a state of consonance. For example, a person prone to obesity decided to go on a diet (cognition X), but cannot deny himself his favorite chocolate (cognition Y). A person trying to lose weight should not eat chocolate. There is dissonance. Its occurrence motivates a person to reduce, remove, and reduce dissonance. To do this, according to Festinger, a person has three main ways: change one of the cognitions (in this case, stop eating chocolate or stop dieting); reduce the significance of cognitions included in dissonant relationships (decide that completeness is not so big sin or that chocolate does not provide significant weight gain); add a new cognition (for example, that although chocolate increases weight, it has a beneficial effect on mental activity).

Cognitive dissonance motivates, requires its reduction, leads to a change in attitudes, and ultimately to a change in behavior. Let's consider the two most well-known effects associated with the emergence and removal of cognitive dissonance. One of them arises in a situation of behavior that contradicts a person’s evaluative attitude towards something (attitude). If a person voluntarily (without coercion) agrees to do something that is somewhat inconsistent with his beliefs, opinion, and if this behavior does not have sufficient external justification (say, reward), then in the future beliefs and opinions change towards greater compliance with the behavior. If, for example, a person agreed to behavior that is somewhat contrary to his moral guidelines, then the consequence of this will be dissonance between knowledge about behavior and moral guidelines, and in the future the latter will change in the direction of lowering morality.

Another well-studied effect found in cognitive dissonance research is dissonance after a difficult decision. A difficult decision is the case when alternative options, from which you need to make a choice, are close in attractiveness. In such cases, as a rule, after making a decision, after the choice is made, a person experiences cognitive dissonance, which is the result of the following contradictions: on the one hand, there are negative features in the chosen option, and on the other hand, there is something positive in the rejected option . What is accepted is partly bad, but it is accepted. What is rejected is partly good, but it is rejected.

Experimental studies of the consequences of a difficult decision have shown that after making such a decision (over time), the subjective attractiveness of the chosen option increases and the subjective attractiveness of the rejected one decreases. A person, thus, gets rid of cognitive dissonance: he convinces himself that what he chose is not just slightly better than the rejected one, but much better, he, as it were, expands alternative options: the chosen one pulls up the attractiveness scale, the rejected one moves down . Based on this, we can assume that difficult decisions increase the likelihood of behavior consistent with the chosen option. For example, if a person was tormented for a long time by choosing between cars “A” and “B”, and in the end preferred “B”, then in the future the probability of choosing cars of type “B” will be higher than before the purchase, since the relative attractiveness of the latter will increase.

An experimental study by one of Festinger's students - Brehm showed that after making a difficult decision, the subjective attractiveness of the chosen option increases and the subjective attractiveness of the rejected option decreases. The experiment was structured as follows. The subjects (women) were asked to rate the attractiveness of various household items such as a stopwatch, radio, table lamp, etc. After this, the control group was given one of the items as a gift. The first experimental group (difficult decision group) was given a choice between objects that were similar in attractiveness; the second (easy decision group) was given the opportunity to choose an object from two that differed greatly in attractiveness. Subjects in all three groups were then asked to rate the objects again based on their attractiveness. The results showed that subjects in the experimental groups (those who had the right to choose) changed their assessments of the attractiveness of the objects that were given to them to choose from: compared to the initial assessments, the rejected item was perceived as relatively less attractive, and the chosen item was perceived as more attractive. In other words, the attractiveness of the rejected option has decreased, while the attractiveness of the chosen one has increased. Moreover, the change in attractiveness ratings was more significant in the case of a difficult decision.

Festinger explains the described fact as follows. After making a difficult decision, a person experiences emotional discomfort, which is caused by the fact that, on the one hand, the chosen option has negative features, and on the other hand, the rejected option has something positive: what was accepted is partly bad, but it is accepted; what is rejected is partially good, but it is rejected. In an effort to get rid of the experienced contradiction, a person convinces himself that what he chose is not just slightly better than the rejected one, but much better; he, as it were, expands alternative options: the chosen one pulls up the scale of attractiveness, the rejected one down. The consequence of this is changes in value judgments regarding the attractiveness of alternative behavior options.

Dissonance and consonance

On August 27, 1957, Leon Festinger's book, The Theory of Cognitive Dissonance, was published.

Suffice it to say that the concept of a humanist leader is purely speculative, and the theory of cognitive dissonance is built on experimental data and has been repeatedly confirmed by them. Here, however, one suspicion arises: it seems that the domestic reader loves reasoning more than experiments. At least, a quick survey of several dozen young colleagues showed: with Maslow's concept Almost everyone is familiar with it, at least in its abstract presentation, while few have read Festinger, and many to this day have not even heard of him. Turning over the pages of the historical and psychological calendar at the end of summer, we will try to fill this gap at least partially.

A student of Levin, Festinger in his research relied on the principle of balance, using it in the analysis of human perception of the world. He himself begins the presentation of his theory with the following reasoning: it has been noticed that people strive for some consistency as a desired internal state. If a contradiction arises between what a person knows and what he does, then he seeks to somehow explain this contradiction and, most likely, present it as non-contradiction in order to again achieve a state of internal cognitive consistency.

Next, Festinger suggests replacing the term “contradiction” with “dissonance” and “coherence” with “consonance”, since this pair of terms seems more neutral to him, and now formulate the main provisions of the theory. It can be stated in three main points:

a) dissonance may arise between cognitive elements;

b) the existence of dissonance causes a desire to reduce it or prevent its growth;

c) the manifestation of this desire includes: either a change in behavior, or a change in knowledge, or a cautious, selective attitude to new information.

As an illustration, the now familiar example of a smoker is given: a person smokes, but at the same time knows that smoking is harmful; he experiences dissonance, from which there are three ways to get out:

a) change behavior, that is, quit smoking;

b) change knowledge, in this case - convince yourself that all discussions about the dangers of smoking at least exaggerate the danger, and are even completely unreliable;

c) carefully perceive new information about the dangers of smoking, that is, simply ignore it.

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Festinger's theory of cognitive dissonance and practical application. Cognitive dissonance - what is this concept in psychology? Festinger's theory of cognitive dissonance. Fighting with your own self

The emergence of dissonance[edit | edit source text]

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Meaning of the concept

Cognitive dissonance - what is it in simple words?

Causes of cognitive dissonance

Author of the theory

Hypotheses of the theory

The essence of the theory

How to reduce dissonance?

How to avoid dissonance

Cognitive dissonance: examples from life

Conclusion

2.1 General provisions

What else to read

THE LAST NOTES

Festinger's theory of cognitive dissonance and practical application. Cognitive dissonance - what is this concept in psychology? Festinger's theory of cognitive dissonance. Fighting with your own self

The emergence of dissonance[edit | edit source text]

Send your good work in the knowledge base is simple. Use the form below

Similar documents

Meaning of the concept

Cognitive dissonance - what is it in simple words?

Causes of cognitive dissonance

Author of the theory

Hypotheses of the theory

The essence of the theory

How to reduce dissonance?

How to avoid dissonance

Cognitive dissonance: examples from life

Conclusion

2.1 General provisions

What else to read

THE LAST NOTES

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