The present experiment sought to demonstrate the presence of cognitive dissonance after making a difficult decision concerning morality. When there is an inconsistency between attitudes or behaviors dissonance, something must change to eliminate the. Festinger turned next to the development of a set of ideas for which he is perhaps best known in psychology the theory of cognitive dissonance festinger, 1957. The theory has obviously stood the test of time in that it is mentioned in most general and social psychology textbooks today. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. The 25 most influential psychological experiments in history.
Theory of cognitive dissonance as it pertains to morality. Leon festingers theory of cognitive dissonance has been widely recognized for its important and influential concepts in areas of motivation and social psychology. Leon festinger 8 may 1919 11 february 1989 was an american social psychologist. All books are in clear copy here, and all files are secure so dont worry about it. Jeanleon beauvois and robertvincent joule present their radical disso. Leon festinger, born may 8, 1919, brooklyn, new york, u. Cognitive dissonance theory leon festinger 1957 pdf.
Festingers 1957 cognitive dissonance theory suggests that we have an inner drive to hold all our attitudes and beliefs in harmony and avoid disharmony dissonance. A theory of cognitive dissonance by leon festinger, 1962, stanford university press edition. Festingers theory of cognitive dissonance has been one of the most. Cognitive dissonance is the stress that comes from holding two conflicting thoughts simultaneously. Almost half a century ago social psychologist leon festinger developed the cognitive dissonance theory festinger, 1957. He received his bachelors degree from city college of new york and went on to iowa state university for his masters degree and his ph. People hold many different cognitions about their world, e. In this chapter, the main results of a structuralist analysis of festingers theory of cognitive dissonance and of a typical dissonance experiment are presented and some methodological problems are discusssed from a structuralist point of view. Inconsistent or conflicting beliefs lead to disharmony, which people strive to avoid. Cognitive dissonance theory has been used to explain why. Pdf cognitive dissonance identification in the institutional setting. In this lesson, well talk about the psychological theory of cognitive dissonance, and a famous experiment done by psychologist leon festinger, who developed the theory of.
Full text of festingerrieckenschachterwhenprophecyfails1956. In general, social psychologists, always looking for the next great theory, seemed to have shelved this book and its concepts within a couple of decades after it came out in 1957 see leon festinger s comments 30 years later in appendix b of cognitive dissonance progress on a pivotal theory in social. Leon festinger developed the cognitive dissonance theory festinger, 1957 dissonance occurs when a person perceives a logical inconsistency in their beliefs, when one idea implies the opposite of another. But even before festinger was the greek fabulist aesop. This is chapter one of leon festinger, a theory of cognitive dissonance.
May 16, 2019 a theory of cognitive dissonance by leon festinger, 1962, stanford university press edition. This article was originally published in the encyclopedia. In a time of abundant information, the risk of picking up only those data that support our previous convictions is always there. Many of these cognitions are irrelevant to each other and are not problematic for the. Festinger s 1957 cognitive dissonance theory suggests that we have an inner drive to hold all our attitudes and behavior in harmony and avoid disharmony or dissonance. Keep reading for a brief biography of festinger and to learn more about cognitive dissonance. Conflict, decision and dissonance by leon festinger. What marine recruits go through in boot camp earning the title making marines on parris island duration. Leon festinger and james carlsmith study conducted in 1957 at stanford university experiment details. Festinger and his colleague, james carlsmith, wanted to study cognitive dissonance involving forced compliance. His theories and research are credited with renouncing the previously dominant behaviorist view of social psychology by demonstrating the inadequacy of stimulusresponse conditioning accounts of human behavior.
The brilliant jon stewart speaks on cognitive dissonance duration. Cognitive dissonance is one form of social comparison. Theory of cognitive dissonance by leon festinger 123 help me. Festinger described the basic hypotheses of cognitive dissonance as follows. The most famous and widely cited of these theories is cognitive dissonance cdt. When there is an inconsistency between attitudes or behaviors dissonance, something must change to eliminate the dissonance. Cognitive dissonance leon festinger according to cognitive dissonance theory, there is a tendency for individuals to seek consistency among their cognitions i. Ronis ohio state university recent revisions of cognitive dissonance theory no longer encompass some of the important examples, data, and hypotheses that were part of festingers original statement. Psychologist leon festinger first proposed a theory of cognitive dissonance centered on how people try to reach internal consistency. Full text of festingerrieckenschachterwhenprophecyfails. The central proposition of festingers theory is that if a person holds two cognitions that are inconsistent with one another, he will experience the pressure of an aversive motivational state called cognitive dissonance, a pressure which he will seek to remove, among other ways. Cognitive dissonance 1 theory paper cognitive dissonance.
That is, disagreement from others in a group generates dissonance, and. When people experience inconsistency, or dissonance, among these elements, they become anxious. Biography leon festinger was born in brooklyn, new york, on may 8, 1919. Full text of festingerrieckenschachterwhenprophecy. Persisting cognitive dissonance harmfully interacts with high cognitive load by. Leon festinger was interested in science at a young age, and decided to pursue a career in psychology. Download citation ideological cognitive dissonance the author examines the occurrence of a type of cognitive dissonance found among individuals when they are asked to think about their own. Leon festingers classic cognitive dissonance theory holds that people want their thoughts, beliefs, and attitudes to be consistent with one another and with their behavior.
Leon festinger 8 may 1919 11 february 1989 was an american social psychologist, perhaps best known for cognitive dissonance and social comparison theory. Cognitive dissonance theory has been known to play out in several ways. Cognitive dissonance theory, developed by leon festinger 1957, is concerned with the relationships among cognitions festinger, 1957. In the rest of the book many behavioural facts supporting the theory are put forward.
Leon festingers theory of cognitive dissonance has not been adequately researched in its application to morality i. Festinger imagined a number of methods for dealing with cognitive dissonance. Here are presented all the main aspects of the theory. An introduction to cognitive dissonance theory and an. The students involved in the study were told that they had to do certain experiments. Festinger and carlsmith 1959 subjects participated in a very boring task for an hour and were then asked to tell the next group of subjects that it was very fun. Reducing persisting cognitive dissonance and dropout. Cognitive dissonance how our mind tricks us into staying duration. Leon festinger was the first psychologist to study cognitive dissonance around the 1950s, and his works, such as books and experiments, helped to shed light on the ways in which humans act to decrease cognitive dissonance. The theory of cognitive dissonance festinger, 1957. Festingers theory of cognitive dissonance springerlink.
Cognitive dissonance is a theory developed by 20th century social psychologist leon festinger. Before leon fessinger created experiments in 1957 he and his colleagues henry riecken and stanley schachter were interested in conditions under which disconfirmation of beliefs leads to increased conviction. According to the social psychologist, the social comparison theory is the idea that there is a drive within individuals to search for outside images in order to evaluate their own opinions and abilities. It refers to feelings of discomfort that occur when our actions and beliefs dont match, when we hold.
The advances in the history of cognitive dissonance theory. Festinger 1957 argued, the social group is a source of cognitive dissonance as well as. Originally published in the journal of abnormal and social psychology in 1959, cognitive consequences of forced compliance by leon festinger and james carlsmith was the first of numerous studies to corroborate the theory of cognitive dissonance. Pdf the purpose of this study was to evaluate a possible model for using leon festinger s theory of cognitive dissonance in organizations. A theory of cognitive dissonance by festinger, leon, 19191989. Festingers 1957 cognitive dissonance theory suggests that we have an inner drive to hold all our attitudes and behavior in harmony and avoid disharmony or dissonance. Leon festinger, one such noted social psychologist, explained that people, in the course of their daily lives, hold a myriad of cognitions simultaneously. He suggested that people have an inner need to ensure that their beliefs and behaviors are consistent. The theory of dissonance is here applied to the problem of why partial reward, delay of reward, and effort expenditure during training result in increased resistance to extinction. Leon festinger, an introduction to the theory of cognitive. This work is a clearly stated theory on how humans think, decide, and defend their decisions. Festinger presented dissonance theory during the heyday of cognitive consistency theories, and he discussed dissonance as a cognitive consistency theory. It has generated hundreds and hundreds of studies, from which much has been learned.
In general, social psychologists, always looking for the next great theory, seemed to have shelved this book and its concepts within a couple of decades after it came out in 1957 see leon festingers comments 30 years later in appendix b of cognitive dissonance progress on a. The study cognitive dissonance is a phenomenon studied by leon festinger most famously in his 1954 study involving 71 male students from stanford university. The social comparison theory was originally proposed by leon festinger in 1954. The theory of cognitive dissonance festinger, 1957 made a significant mark in. Download cognitive dissonance theory leon festinger 1957 book pdf free download link or read online here in pdf. In a theory of cognitive dissonance 1957, leon festinger proposed that human beings strive for internal psychological consistency to function mentally in the real world.
Festinger 1957 argued, the social group is a source of cognitive dissonance as well as a vehicle for reducing it. This is known as the principle of cognitive consistency. May 11, 2012 theory of cognitive dissonance the theory of cognitive dissonance has been the subject of interest and study of social psychologists in particular. In an event wherein some of these cognitions clash, an unsettled state of tension occurs and this is called. The cognitive dissonance experiment is based on the theory of cognitive dissonance proposed by leon festinger in the year 1957.
Cognitive theories of motivation rely on your thoughts, beliefs, and attitudes to explain your motivation. Festinger s theory of cognitive dissonance has been one of the most in. In this context, cognition can be perceived as a piece of knowledge that may inscribe an element of an attitude, an emotion, a behavior, a value, and so on festinger, 1957. How did leon festinger discovered cognitive dissonance. A structural model of emotions of cognitive dissonances.
One key aspect of cognitive dissonance theory is that individuals experience a mental discomfort after taking actions that appear to be in con. To get a good understanding of dissonance i would recommend a theory of cognitive dissonance by leon festinger. Read online cognitive dissonance theory leon festinger 1957 book pdf free download link book now. Sep 28, 2016 before leon fessinger created experiments in 1957 he and his colleagues henry riecken and stanley schachter were interested in conditions under which disconfirmation of beliefs leads to increased conviction. The psychological discomfort that one feels when his actions are not aligned with his beliefs is called cognitive dissonance, which all of us strive to avoid as much as possible.
However, as several subsequent theorists noted, dissonance theory contained an important element not present in other consistency theories. Cognitive dissonance is the negative feeling that results from conflicting beliefs and behaviors. A person who experiences internal inconsistency tends to become psychologically uncomfortable and is motivated to reduce the cognitive dissonance. A social and psychological study of a modern group that predicted the end of the world university of minnesota press. Another argument that may support the use of the environmental frame for animal advocacy is related with behavioral and attitudinal change. Cognitive dissonance is based on the theory of leon festinger and presented in.
1036 1249 548 1281 789 1283 634 1525 1286 1273 143 325 1452 171 862 1128 1459 723 256 302 1518 759 626 984 1254 147 540 1341 424 1075 1358 178 797 1391 1420 1133 768 410 902 1283 605 206 1042 605 303 69 428 1495 992 285