Cognitive dissonance as an explanation for relationship. Introduced by leon festinger in 1957 in his book, a theory of cognitive dissonance, the cognitive dissonance theory focuses on how we as human beings always strive hard to make sure that our beliefs and actions are aligned with each other. 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. Festingers 1957 theory of cognitive dissonance suggested that individuals seek to maintain consonance or consistency. Cognitive dissonance in relationships everyday health. Think about a couple, jack and jill, who have been together for two years, but only lived together for a few months. Jul 08, 2018 if the resolution of cognitive dissonance means that we move forward with a commitment and spring into action, making us feel better, maybe the dissonance was trying to tell us something. Cognitive dissonance is a psychological discomfort that occurs when a discrepancy exists between what a person believes and the information that contradicts that belief. But, at the same time, theres always something that prevents them from doing it. Cognitive dissonance is even more common in abusive relationships. The unease or tension that the conflict arouses in people is relieved by one of several defensive maneuvers. Apr 10, 20 cognitive dissonance challenges a possibility of human evolution cognitive dissonance cd is a discomfort caused by holding conflicting elements of knowledge.
Learn about cognitive dissonance, how psychologist leon festinger developed the theory, and how reducing dissonance can alter behaviors and attitudes. What cognitive dissonance is saying about your relationship. Cognitive dissonance, the mental conflict that occurs when beliefs or assumptions are contradicted by new information. The cognitive dissonance of love march 14, 2012 by jack varnell 6 comments when bipolar illness wouldt let the woman he loved find her voice. Oct 24, 2014 the cognitive dissonance theory is a simple one even though it sounds really fancy. A snapshot a simplistic, condensed example in a toxic relationship. Cognitive dissonance affects our lives in a multitude of ways, often causing conflict and confusion. By definition cognitive dissonance is the feeling of discomfort due to conflicting thoughts, attitude, or behavior. Cognitive dissonance in relationships with emotional dependence is a fairly common topic. Since it was presented by festinger over 60 years ago, cognitive dissonance theory has continued to generate research, revision, and controversy.
When it does happen, it is reduced in different ways. It is particularly frightening at my age, since many people have not yet had a lot of serious relationships, and thus, sometimes get so caught up in romanticizing their relationships, that they fail to pay attention to. If the resolution of cognitive dissonance means that we move forward with a commitment and spring into action, making us feel better, maybe the dissonance was trying to tell us something. Cognitive dissonance is a psychological term which describes the uncomfortable tension that results from having two conflicting thoughts at the same time, or from engaging in behavior that conflicts with ones beliefs rational wiki. The idea of a loving partner is dissonant with the idea that ones partner is. An actionbased model of cognitive dissonance processes eddie harmonjones, cindy harmonjones, and nicholas levy the university of new south wales abstract the actionbased model extends the original theory of cognitive dissonance by proposing why cognitive inconsistency causes both dissonance and dissonance reduction. 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 motivation to reduce cognitive dissonance drives much of our irrational behavior. Because ipa goes against culturallyaccepted behaviors for how partners should treat each other, victims may experience intense cognitive dissonance 9,10. Part of 1 increasing the importance of consonant cognitions was not specified by festinger as a way to reduce dissonance, although it follows logically from consideration of the. For more information on cognitive dissonance and how to leave an unhealthy relationship, click here. The importance of cognitive dissonance in understanding. Festinger 1957 introduced the concept of cognitive dissonance after conducting an observational study of a.
The model begins by assuming that many perceptions and cognitions automatically impel us to act in specific ways. Matz augsburg college wendy wood duke university as l. Oct 07, 2014 cognitive dissonance in narcissistic abuse. A good synthesis of minitheories in future studies will move the dissonance theory further in explaining the conditions under which people strive towards consistency. Cognitive dissonance brings about a need to justify actions that are contradictory to our belief system. Sometimes people can directly address the cognitive dissonance arising from these unwelcome events. Cognitive dissonance cognitive dissonance has been considered one of the most simplistic and widely accepted accounts of cognitive i. Moreover, i return to the concept throughout my workshops and classes. When someone is immersed in a toxic relationship, deep down they know they should really get out of it. 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. But cognitive dissonance ultimately forces a person to favor one view over a less comfortable one, even if the more comfortable belief is wrong or dangerous.
In study 3, the dissonance induced by group disagreement was reduced through a variety of interpersonal strategies to achieve consensus, including persuading others, changing one s own position, and joining an attitudinally congenial group. Our focus in this article is on how actions can induce changes in preferences, but there are other studies that use cognitive dissonance to explain preferences without appealing to any action. When it comes to relationships, cognitive dissonance can be particularly perplexing. Raise your hand if you believe the united states was founded on christian or judeochristian principles.
The advances in the history of cognitive dissonance theory. Cognitive dissonance challenges a possibility of human evolution. The open expression of disagreement in a group leads to the existence of cognitive dissonance in the members. Being able to recognize when we are in a state of dissonance can help us make better decisions and improve our relationships. Love and cognitive dissonance theory some kind of clever. The theoretical basis of the study is the theories of cognitive dissonance and cognitive congruence, social perception and causal attribution, as well as the sociocommunication model of the. A common example of cognitive dissonance occurs in the purchasing decisions we make on a regular basis. The word cognitive comes from the word cognition, which by definition is the mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses. Cognitivedissonancetheory after50yearsofdevelopment.
Acognitive dissonance approach avidit acharya matthew blackwell maya sen may 28,2015 word count. Cognitive dissonance as a strategy in social justice teaching. Cognitive dissonance theory is concerned with the relationships that exist among cognitions. Our relationship with cognitive dissonance 3 dissonance that are results of travelingliving abroad. However, this opened a new era of minitheories which originate from cognitive dissonance theory. Most of them can generally be arranged into four groups. Cognitive dissonance often arises in response to events outside an individuals control that violate her worldview or expectations for examples, see harmonjones, amodio, and harmonjones 2009. This might ignite cognitive dissonance for you, i might say, before an activity that. In the field of psychology, cognitive dissonance is the mental discomfort psychological stress experienced by a person who holds two or more contradictory beliefs, ideas, or values. Dissonance, decisionmaking, and relationships claxus. Cognitive dissonance is a communication theory that was published by leon festinger in 1957, a theory that.
Finally, the authors present results from experiments examining predictions derived from the actionbased model and neural processes involved in dissonance reduction. Mar 07, 2018 cognitive dissonance in abusive relationships. So this paper also examines how cognitive dissonance in nontravel situations, such as economic scenarios, life and death situations, and other major cognitive aspects of life. When there is a discrepancy between beliefs and behaviors, something must change in order to eliminate or reduce the dissonance.
Oct 10, 2016 cognitive dissonance theory was developed by leon festinger. Cognitive dissonance theory supports, at some level, the view longheld by many sociologists and psychologists that religion is an irrational, fearbased choice and that people who are religious are too afraid to change their beliefs when confronted with obvious contradictions. Research seems to suggest that people from nonwestern cultures do. Cognitive dissonance definition of cognitive dissonance by. The importance of cognitive dissonance in understanding and. Examples and practical applications of cognitive dissonance. Festinger 1957 argued, the social group is a source of cognitive dissonance as well as a vehicle for reducing it. The cognitive dissonance theory is a simple one even though it sounds really fancy. Cognitive dissonance cd is a discomfort caused by holding conflicting elements of knowledge. Cognitive dissonance theory has been known to play out in several ways.
People in romantic relationships often dont realize the role this dissonance plays in interactions with their significant others. Cognitive dissonance definition is psychological conflict resulting from incongruous beliefs and attitudes held simultaneously. The term cognitive dissonance is used to describe the feeling of discomfort that results from holding two conflicting beliefs. The thing is, cognitive dissonance can occur in pretty much any area of life, and can be used to explain a lot of behavior, but is very common where someones beliefs that are. An introduction to cognitive dissonance theory and an. How cognitive dissonance affects friendship, dating, and marriage, plus how it plays out in abusive relationships. The actionbased model extends the original theory of cognitive dissonance by proposing why cognitive inconsistency causes both dissonance and dissonance reduction. Cognitive dissonance definition of cognitive dissonance. A critical tool in social justice teaching 2 i usually begin my social justice education workshops the same way.
Pdf on jan 1, 2012, sameera moharib alotaibi and others published the relationship between cognitive dissonance and the big5 factors modelof the personality and the academic achievement in a. Cognitive dissonance has been one of the most enduring and successful theories in the history of social psychology. Cognitive dissonance was first investigated by leon festinger, arising out of a participant observation study of a cult which believed that the earth was going to be destroyed by a flood, and what happened to its members particularly the really committed ones who had given up their homes and jobs to work for the cult when the flood did not happen. Cd is among the most influential and extensively studied theories in social psychology e. But even before festinger was the greek fabulist aesop.
The cognitive dissonance of love the good men project. This is known as the principle of cognitive consistency. I wanted to share this off the top because i feel its important as a reader of this article, that you understand the theme. Part of thesocial psychology commons, and thesocial psychology and interaction commons. The place of cognitive dissonance in narcissistic victim. Major cognitive dissonance phenomena let us now turn to a brief discussion of major cognitive dissonance phenomena. When there is an inconsistency between attitudes or behaviors dissonance, something must change to eliminate the. The theory of cognitive dissonance helps explain why people sometimes go to great lengths to account for thoughts, words, and behaviors that seem to clashwhen one learns new information that. Cognitive dissonance as an explanation for relationship satisfaction in long distance relationships kelli anne gardner iowa state university follow this and additional works at. Gender differences in cognitive dissonance reduction. Cognitive dissonance is a theory developed by social psychologists in order to understand human behavior more specifically human emotions. This broad class of cognitive dissonance is a frequently invoked example by. One of the most popular cognitive approaches to the study of motivation has been the theory of cognitive dissonance, first systematically this article was most recently revised and updated by brian duignan, senior editor. High and low levels of selfesteem differentially affect the resolution of cognitive dissonance as explained by selfconsistency and self.
This paper examines the origins of the theory and the controversies it engendered. Cognitive reframing of intimate partner aggression. These effects are possible from experiences at home as well. Cognitive dissonance theory was developed by leon festinger.
Cognitive dissonance creates uneasy strain in your mind, and compartmentalization helps keep the two worlds from colliding. We choose to deceive ourselves rather than admit we were wrong. Cognitive dissonance in emotionally dependent relationships. Jul 23, 2014 i have personally witnessed many peers in a college environment encounter cognitive dissonance in their romantic relationships. That is, disagreement from others in a group generates dissonance, and subsequent. Together they are incredibly happy and they love each other. This discomfort is triggered by a situation in which a persons belief clashes with new evidence perceived by the person.