Transcript Festinger's Theory of Cognitive Dissonance

Festinger's Theory
of Cognitive
Dissonance
Wilson & Russell
Experiment (see if you
can guess the results)
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1. P’s are first asked to lift a weight. The weight is
either 10 lbs. or 50 lbs..
2. They are then paid 50 cents or $1.50 for their work.
3. Next they are asked to estimate how high they lifted
the weight.
4. According to Festinger’s theory of cognitive
dissonance, which two groups would be the most
accurate? A) The 10 lbs. for 50 cents and the 50 lbs.
for $1.50 groups, or B) the 50 lbs. for 50 cents and 10
lbs. for $1.50 groups.
I. Background
A: Most influential
statement in 40 years
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1. Makes non-intuitive predictions,
e.g., If I want to make you like
sorting garbage, I’d have someone
you hate get you to sort it.
2. Simple and accounts for a large
amount of previously unexplained
phenomenon, e.g., earthquakes
and other disasters.
TYPICAL DISASTER
SCENARIO
CORE
PERIPHERY
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3. Gut feeling (we all have
experienced it), e.g., course loads
and teacher ratings, reading about
things after we purchase them,
mad professor.
4. Integrates Field Research with
laboratory research, e.g., When
Prophecy Fails.
5. Demonstrates biological
continuity with rats AND people.
II. Basic Statement
When the opposite of one cognition
follows from the other, dissonance
exists,
i.e., If A, then B (no dissonance)
If A, then not B (dissonance)
e.g. 1 --see cartoon
II. Basic Statement
(Con’t)
e.g. 2. My theory is the greatest,
everyone disagrees
e.g. 3. Smoking can kill you, you
smoke
•III. Dissonance as a drive. When
people experience dissonance, they
are motivated to reduce it.
•IV. The Magnitude o f Dissonance:
The greater the magnitude, the
greater the dissonance. Magnitude
is determined by:
A. Ratio of consonant to
dissonant elements (e.g.
Smoking)
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Social
Weight control
Complements
alcohol
Complements
coffee or tea
Relaxation
Reward self
Other
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.003 chance of
cancer
Blood pressure
Emphysema
Negative social
pressure
Harmful to others
Smells very bad
Looks disgusting
B. Relevance: The greater the
personal relevance, the greater
the dissonance.
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E.g. 1. Clinton dirty old man;
people like Clinton. Why?
E.g. 2. You are smart, but you are
failing your courses.
V. Dissonance Reduction: Three
ways:
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A. Add new elements, e.g. Professor is like “When
Prophecy Fails,” goes on Geraldo, Donahue, and
Oprah shows.
B. Change original element, e.g. I’m not smart or I
didn’t study hard enough or a “D” is not such a bad
grade.
C. Reduce importance, e.g., Who cares about
grades anyway? I’m just here for fun.
Note: A valid criticism of the theory is that it cannot
predict which of the three ways a person will choose
to reduce dissonance.
VI. Research
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A. Post-Decision Dissonance: Dissonance is
greatest following a decision between two or more
alternatives.
Why?
Alternative A
++++++ -----
Alternative B
+++++ ---+++++
1. Study by Erlich et al.
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Predicted that new car owners
would read more ads about the car
they purchased than ads about
other cars. Why?
See cartoon
Your’s Truly:
Mustang vs. Camaro
2. Brehm (1956) Women
ratings of domestic products
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Post -Experimental
Ratings
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High Dissonance Group - chose
between the two most attractive
items
Low Dissonance Group - chose
between most and least
attractive items
Control - given item they rated
most attractive
3. Walster’s Study of
Regret Phase
Soldiers ratings for chosen and not
chosen alternative
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
chosen
not chosen
pre
4 min. 15 min. 30 min.
time of rating
B. Dissonance and
Attitude Change : If you
want to change
someone’s attitude, first
create dissonance; the
person will change his or
her attitude in order to
reduce it.
1. Series 1. Rats and people come
to love the things they suffer for.
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E.g. 1, Aronson & Mills:
Dissonance Group: read obscene
literature
No Dissonance Group: did not
read obscene literature
Both Groups listened to boring
tape of sexual behaviour of rats
Results ?
Dissonance Group liked the
session and wanted to come back
the most
Alternative Explanations?
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E.g. 2, Gerard & Matheson: replicated Aronson &
Mills:
Instead of reading dirty words, they used electric
shock
Half the Dissonance Group was told that they
passed, Half that they would have to wait until after
the session
Results: Shock worked just as well and both
Dissonance Groups liked the session more than the
control group
E.g. 3, Festinger and insufficient
rewards in rats
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What kind of reinforcement is best
for learning?
Continuous
What kind is best for resistance to
extinction?
Partial
Festinger says this is so because
rats develop a dissonance-like
preference when they go to the
goal box and there is no food.
2. Series 2. Dissonance
and Reinforcement
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Festinger & Carlsmith Study:
Dissonance Predicts $1.00 group
should like the study more than the
$20.00 group. Why?
Reinforcement Theory Predicts the
opposite. Why?
Dissonance wins in series of
studies.
Other Research on
Reinforcement:
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Threat. Low or High?
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toys; Korean war and brainwashing
effects (Brehm & Cohen).
Research on insufficient
justification: sorting garbage,
eating grasshoppers with a nice vs.
insulting experimenter
VII. Attacks on Dissonance Theory
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A. Reinforcement theory: lost
B. Self-perception theory (Bem): Individuals come to know their
own attitudes, emotions, and other internal states partially by
inferring them from observations of their own behaviour and the
circumstances in which this behaviour occurs. Thus to the
extent that internal cues are weak, ambiguous, or
uninterpretable, the individual is functionally in the same
position as an outside observer, an observer who must
necessarily rely upon those same external cues to infer the
individual’s inner states. $1.00? Must have liked it.
C. Impression Management Theory: We try to be consistent to
the experimenter and tell him or her what makes us look good.
$1.00? Must have liked it.
VIII. Retaliation. Dissonance and
Arousal. E.g., Dissonance and the Pill
(Zanna & Cooper)
Relaxation
Arousal
14
12
Attitude 10
8
Change 6
4
2
0
None
Effects of Placebo on
attitude change
Hi Choice
Lo Choice
Conditions
Note: Hi Choice = High Dissonance, Low Choice = Low Dissonance
IX: Other Research
A. Cognitive Control of Motivation
(Zimbardo) e.g. Hunger study
Anount of Free Fatty Acids after 8 hours
40
35
30
Free Fatty 25
Acids in 20
Blood 15
10
5
0
Hi Choice
Lo Choice
Conditions
Note: Hi Choice = Hi Dissonance, Lo Choice = Lo Dissonance
B. Dissonance and
Psychotherapy (Cooper)
Distance from snake as a result of choice
and therapy
12
10
8
Distance 6
4
2
0
Hi Choice
Lo Choice
Flooding
Exercise
Therapy
Note: Hi Choice =Hi Dissonance, Lo Choice = Lo Dissonance
C. Dissonance and
Commitment
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People who suffer in their relations
with their partner or with their jobs
come to love them more
(Brickman)
We go through:
Thesis
Antithesis
Synthesis
That’s All Folks!