Cognitive Dissonance, Attitude Change and Ways to Reduce Cognitive Dissonance: a Review Study

Journal of Education, Society and Behavioural Science

33(6): 48-54, 2020; Article no.JESBS.58722 ISSN: 2456-981X (Past name: British Journal of Education, Society & Behavioural Science, Past ISSN: 2278-0998)

Cognitive Dissonance, Attitude Change and Ways to Reduce Cognitive Dissonance: A Review Study

Annu1* and Bimla Dhanda1

1I.C. College of Home Science, CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar, 125004, India.

Authors’ contributions

This work was carried out in collaboration between both authors. Author Annu designed the study, performed the statistical analysis, wrote the protocol and wrote the first draft of the manuscript. Author BD managed the analyses of the study. Both authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Article Information

DOI: 10.9734/JESBS/2020/v33i630236 Editor(s): (1) Chih-Wei Pai, Taipei Medical University, Taiwan. (2) Prof. Redhwan A. Al-Naggar, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia. Reviewers: (1) Lata Mullur, BLDE(DU), India. (2) D. Hari Krishna, B V Raju Institute of Technology, India. (3) L. Manoj Kumar, Kerala University of Health Sciences, India. Complete Peer review History: http://www.sdiarticle4.com/review-history/58722

Received 20 April 2020 Accepted 29 June 2020 Review Article Published 01 July 2020

ABSTRACT

Cognitive dissonance is the state of psychological discomfort or tension that knowledgeable by the people who have more than two conflicting attitude, values and belief happen at same period of time. Its conception associated with self-doubt at the time of making decision. The aim of this review study is to emphasize on cognitive dissonance, reasons to cause the cognitive dissonance, cognitive dissonance theory with revisions, association between cognitive dissonance and the strategies to elimination of cognitive dissonance. The cognitive dissonance is most impactful in the social psychology in past time. The revisions of the cognitive dissonance theory emphasizes on that the cognitive dissonance arises by the function of self-concept. The cognitive dissonance caused by many reasons namely: force compliance behaviour, gain new information, during decision making and effort made by the person. The existence of cognitive dissonance increases the state of motivation in person to change the attitude. The cognitive dissonance is strongly associated with changes in attitude. The changes in behavioural, social cognitive elements, addition of new elements and avoidance of dissonance are the strategies to lessen cognitive dissonance.

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*Corresponding author: E-mail: [email protected];

Annu and Dhanda; JESBS, 33(6): 48-54, 2020; Article no.JESBS.58722

Keywords: Cognitive dissonance; cognitive dissonance theory; attitude; behaviour.

1. INTRODUCTION wrong, in order to retain his or her job he or she might be forced to do it. That situation leads to The word cognition is evolved from the Latin cognitive dissonance. word, Cognoscere, meaning to know. Cognition is consisting of all the mental processes through Decision Making: Decision plays an important which person become aware and understands role in life of every people. To solve any problem, about the world. Cognition is that kind of process there are two or more alternatives to accomplish through which transformed, summarised, the problem. Each alternative has its pros and elaborate, stored, recovered and used the cons. All decision include choose the best sensory input. It is the mental processing that alternatives from the available alternatives which comprised of attention, thinking, comprehension, is best to solve the problem. That leads to calculating, reasoning, problem solving and dissonance. The cognitive dissonance increases decision making. as increase of number of alternatives. For instance, a person has to choose between two Dissonance is the discomfort or tension. First the jobs. One job will provide quite good salary but is term dissonance used by Festinger, dissonance located in other country and in that job the may be defined as mental discomfort and people person cannot live with his or her family have inconsistency between their cognitions. members or friends but the person might fulfil the These are two theoretically distinct thoughts dreams. The other job will provide poor salary namely; cognitive disagreement and dissonance but it is in home town of person. This selection discomfort [1]. between two jobs creates cognitive dissonance.

Cognitive Dissonance may be defined as Effort: Human have tendency for the circumstance which involves differing attitude, achievement of values through efforts. The beliefs or behaviours. It engenders the feelings of person feels cognitive dissonance when he does psychological embarrassment leads to many efforts for minor achievements. The person modification in attitude and behaviour to put lots of efforts only to get a dismal outcome. overcome the discomfort. For instance, when This results in cognitive dissonance. The person smoke and this is the behaviour of person dissonance is caused when a person perform and he know that cancer is caused by smoking great efforts to achieve something that has so that knowledge of the person is cognition, negative outcomes. then the person in a condition of cognitive dissonance. Another example of cognitive Gaining New Information: This is another major dissonance, person purchase high-priced car cause of cognitive dissonance is approaching and person find for long way this car is not across information that is not in favour of beliefs. comfortable. In this situation, the dissonance Example of Festinger’s cultists from the 1950s, present in the attitude of person that he has the group of people believe that there would be a purchased a good care and it is obliged to at flood and that a flying saucer would come to their ease for driving [2]. rescue. Come the morning, there was no flood, that new information against the beliefs. That 2. CAUSES OF COGNITIVE DISSONANCE result in cognitive dissonance.

McLeod [2] suggested that cognitive dissonance 3. COGNITIVE DISSONANCE THEORY takes place when an individual in that situation where the individual has inconsistency between Cognitive dissonance theory has been a their values, belief, attitude and actions and such important theory in social psychology and has situations may be brought about by: been studies for more than sixty years and hold honorable position [3]. The theory has provided Forced Compliance Behaviour: It may be many learning about determinants of attitudes, defined as where an individual in a forced values, belief and the consequences of decisions situation to perform inconsistence actions with through hundreds of studies. Two cognitions can their values, beliefs or behaviours. Consider an be significant or un-significant with each other accountant who is told to cover up an instance of has been the postulating of the beginning financial misappropriation by his or her boss. In dissonance theory. The two cognitions are either that situation the accountant believes this is consonant or dissonant if they are relevant to

Annu and Dhanda; JESBS, 33(6): 48-54, 2020; Article no.JESBS.58722

one another. If two cognitions follows from other discomfort which are generated from then they are consonant and two cognitions are inconsistencies. Consistency apply for opposite of one another, they are dissonant. In consonance whereas inconsistency for the occurrence of dissonant the individual feel dissonance. There are some factors that psychologically uncomfortable, it enhance the enhance the dissonance namely; prior motivation tendency of an individual to overcome experiences, cultural more and inconsistency dissonant, in order to evasion of that information among cognitions. In behavioural elements, there which is more expected to enhance the is occurrence of at least one cognitive element. dissonance. The dissonance degree rely on In the occurrence of dissonance, individual make value of elements i.e. knowledge, belief and strategies to overcome the dissonance through attitude that are dissonant. The degree of their motivation to reduce it. For the dissonant dissonance association among essentials would act the peripheral rationalization can be attain be superior, if person give more weight to these through greater rewards and consequently in essentials. Consequently, the demand to order to diminish dissonance, whereas peripheral overcome the dissonance is influenced by the rationalization cannot be attain through smaller dissonance magnitude. The magnitude of reward and hence creates more dissonance. dissonance increases as increase in the demand People have propensity to changing patterns of to diminish the dissonance [4]. opinion that decrease dissonance [6].

Moreover, individuals reduce the dissonance Festinger [1] suggested that the occurrence of through might change in the elements of dissonance increase after selection has been behavioural cognitive, ecological cognitive or completed. The degree of post decision addition of new elements of cognitive. For dissonance relies on significance of judgment on instance, a cigarette smoker person who has alternatives which are unchosen and amount of knowledge that habit of smoking is not good for cognitive relative attractiveness of unchosen healthy life might changing patterns of behaviour alternative and degree of cognitive have common by smoking prevention, he make changes in his characteristics of the alternatives. The learnt ability regarding the influence of smoking importance of decision, attractiveness of or might addition of some new consonant unchosen alternatives and low amount of essentials of cognitive [5]. cognitive overlap through all these points for decision makes the post decision dissonance is The cognitive dissonance theory formulated rely stronger An individual might make changes in on belief that person endeavour towards decision, attractiveness of alternatives and uniformity. Individual try to downsize the establish cognitive overlap to reduce the post inconsistencies to reduce the psychological decision dissonance.

Fig. 1. The cognitive dissonance theory

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4. AMENDMENTS IN COGNITIVE direction of conform more closely to their action DISSONANCE THEORY individual then change their attitude in order to an important source of attitude change or Many dissonance researchers revised the theory formation. Individual make choices of actions and from time to time but one of the most valuable then later change their attitude to be consistent revisions made by Aronson in 1960 [7,8] by with those choices. The person form stronger focusing on expectation about the self. An commitments once they have selected from individual perform inconsistent behavior with their several choices and their change their attitude self that would be aroused the dissonance in an which is psychologically discomfort [12]. individual. The person adopts self-justification Gosling et al. [13] revealed that in place to process to reduce dissonance. People preserve resume the sense of consistency, the people constant, expected, proficient and ethically good change their attitude when they took decision to self-concept through self-justification process. write the contradictory easy was liberally For instance, in the study researchers altered the selected. Another dissonance reduction strategy performance and expectancies of participants involves the value of the contradictory attitudinal with reference to their performance. It was behavior. Cancino-Montecinos et al. [14] expected that the expectations would be suggested that the dissonance researches has consonant through consistent performance, devoted numerous perceptive findings focusing whereas dissonance enhanced by inconsistent on changes in attitude associated with cognitive performance. The participants had made high dissonance and observe a significantly changes in their responses whose expectancies affirmative bond among occurrence of performance was inconsistent as compared to psychological discomfort and attitude change. consistent expectancies performance. It was Martinie et al. [15] reported that an individual astonishing that when person projected to poor experienced dissonance i.e. feeling of anxiety, performance then person gone for reiterates his tension, psychological discomfort then individual or her expectancies of negative performance but exhibit attitude change. A more recent study he or she carried out sound knowledgeable found that the state of tension in an individual dissonance. The people steer to achieve self- associated with the change in the attitude of an relevant performance expectancy through individual. The occurrence of cognitive soreness with unpredictable accomplishment inconsistency generates motivational situation whether the performance is good or bad. This that encourages regulation which approaches argument may be supported on self-judgment only through change in behavior or opinion. model which stated that individual through Many researches has been conducted on judicious selection of judicious strengthening cognitive dissonance theory have depended possibilities made observations of their behavior upon inconsistency between attitude and and infers their real attitudes Aronson and behavior and found that with the help of behavior Carlsmith [9]. an attitude shift toward more consistency [16].

5. COGNITIVE DISSONANCE: ATTITUDE 6. COGNITIVE DISSONANCE AS CHANGE MOTIVATION FOR CHANGE IN ATTITUDE Attitude may be defined as that kind of psychological position that makes the person Gruber [17] revealed that cognitive dissonance is ready. Attitude reflects positive and negative a potent motivational factor for change in feelings of an individual towards any objective. It attitude. Motivation is play vital role for change in describes the feelings, thoughts and predilection attitude permanently and successfully. The of an individual to act to achieve the goal Allport people feel comfortable in consistency and the [10]. consistency in terms of attitude, values, belief, thought. People feel uncomfortable or Acharya et al. [11] revealed that the attitude dissonance in the occurrence of inconsistency. affect by actions through a view that social Inconsistency motivates the people for change in psychologists call that phenomenon cognitive attitude. For the reduction of feeling of dissonance. As per the perspective of the uncomfortable that comes out from motivation, cognitive dissonance theory, after taking an people might change their attitude, belief and action individual face the occurrence of values to reclaim feeling of consistency. The psychological discomfort that seems to be person for accomplishment of consistent state conflict with his or her preliminary attitude. In the they change their attitude, values and belief.

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Devine, [18] indicated that cognitive dissonance dissonance. For instance, if a person is basically motivational in nature. The existence experiences dissonance when he or she is of inconsistency in the cognition of an individual smoking and he or she knows that smoking is creates the dissonance. The cognitive unhealthy for his or him life. That dissonance dissonance motivates an individual to reduce the might be reduced by leaving the habit of same by seeking out and implementing that kind smoking. There is another example to reduce the of strategies which overcome the cognitive dissonance, on condition that individuals want to dissonance. He explained the dissonance go for trip and they found that there has began to motivation as the psychological discomfort that rain then they rotate themselves and depart motivates the process of attitude change. The home. motivation is quick implementation of strategies for reduction of dissonance. 8.2 Altering an Element of an Environmental Cognitive 7. HOW COGNITIVE DISSONANCE INFLUENCE ATTITUDINAL CHANGE This is another strategy to reduce the dissonance by modulating the environment or social world. Festinger, [1] suggested that individual have an For example, person invites the reader to inner drive to change in attitude and stay away envision a person pacing in his living room and from dissonance and this phenomenon is known the person without any reason horribly jumping as principle of cognitive consistency. When over an exacting spot on the floor. That situation existence of inconsistency between attitude that persuades cognitive dissonance, while the necessary to change and to remove the person very well conscious about that there is no dissonance. any kind of valid reason to gat panic for this exacting spot. Mcleod, [2] revealed that individual will take the step to reduce the cognitive dissonance only This situation represents that the person may when they are in the state of cognitive perhaps decrease his dissonance through dissonance. An individual face inconsistency making a hole in floor. The person might reduce among their cognitions and that leads to the cognitive dissonance through modifying his psychological discomfort. Then an individual take material environment. The accent of material the strategies to reduce the dissonance to come environment is a moderately unusual occurrence, out into the state of equilibrium. For example, in in view of the fact that the humankind is very Induced Compliance Paradigm, in that paradigm vigorous in formulating their culture and material participants are asked to write down an essay position. that contradicts their prior attitude. Then participants change their attitude to attain the The altering in social environment is very consistency if they perceived that the decision to common. For example, person may surround write essay was freely chosen and found that himself with other person who provokes hostility attitudinal changes associated with dissonance. because the person is habitually very hostile. To reduce the cognitive dissonance the person 8. WAYS THAT REDUCE COGNITIVE might actively moves about in the world by DISSONANCE selecting that social world in which we interact with. So the reduction in dissonance can be Kaaronen, [19] indicated that cognitive achieve through changing environmental dissonance is a motivating factor and the cognitive elements by shifting to different social occurrence of dissonance leads to or physical context or modifying the social psychologically uncomfortable and it motivates environment. the person to make an effort a lot to condense the dissonance and attain consonance. The 8.3 Adding New Cognitive Elements diminution of dissonance can be achieved by four following strategies. The addition of new elements of cognitive is responsible for cognitive dissonance. There are 8.1 Altering an Element of Behavioral three strategies to reduce the dissonance: Cognitive Element (i). Focusing on Supportive Beliefs: The Altering an element of behavioral cognitive is a highlighting on more sympathetic belief or straightforward and easiest strategy to reduce eliminating the significance of differing beliefs

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this is strategy to reduce the cognitive cognitions or make addition of new elements of dissonance. To reduce the total dissonance cognitive. people might actively find new information. For instance, a person who is smoking may seek COMPETING INTERESTS out and read the research articles which indicate that the smoking is so bad for health of Authors have declared that no competing person. interests exist.

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