Objectives Cognitive Dissonance Theory CDT Goal of CDT CDT s Concepts Assumptions of cognitive consistency theories CDT s explanations Research to support CDT Evaluation of CDT Cognitive Dissonance Theory Leon Festinger 1957 social scientist a theory of cognitive dissonance his book Goal To explain how inconsistent beliefs attitudes and behaviors lead to attitude change To predict attitude change primary goal Assumptions of Cognitive Consistency Theories People strive to be consistent in their cognitions Inconsistency creates tension which is unpleasant Tension provides motivation to restore consistency Motivation to restore consistency will only occur with awareness of inconsistency Consistency is cognitive Ex Magazines buying to support youth if you don t do it you have tension might have to go back and support later to make yourself feel better CDT s Concepts Cognitions o Consonance thoughts beliefs and behaviors are in sync with one another they are consistent ex Believe exercise is good so you exercise o Dissonance thoughts beliefs and behaviors are not in sync don t match up ex Believe exercise is good sit there and eat chips o Irrelevant thoughts beliefs and behaviors don t link up in anyway ex Believe exercise is good tomorrow is my birthday Cognitive Dissonance o Feeling which occurs when there is an imbalance among cognitions behaviors o Psychological discomfort CDT s Explanations Dissonant Cognitions psychological tension Psychological Tension motivation to reduce dissonance avoid information that increases dissonance selective exposure Greater dissonance greater motivation to reduce dissonance Magnitude of Dissonance Function of Dissonant Cognitions x Importance Consonant Cognitions x Importance Ex Smoking is bad for me but I smoke anyway We know smoking causes cancer smells weakens the immune system BAD Relieves tension reduces hunger friends do it GOOD Want the bottom number be as large as possible and the top number as small as possible because a small number divided by a large number is a very small number 10 17 12 GET NOTES 10 22 12 Objectives Expectancy Violation Theory EVT What is the goal purpose of EVT What assumptions guide EVT What are EVT s concepts What is EVT s explanation Evaluation of EVT How does EVT define communication What are EVT s Metatheoretical assumptions Expectancy Violation Theory EVT Judee Burgoon 1978 social scientist context doesn t matter A communication model of personal space violations explication and an Initial test Nonverbal Expectancy Violations Theory Goal s of EVT Predict what happens when people s expectations for nonverbal behavior are violated in conversation To explain how people create meaning when their expectations are violated Intrapersonal individual theory meaning created in the mind of the person being violated no negotiated meaning involved Focus of EVT Proxemic Research Promexic Zones Edward Hall 1966 1990 1992 Intimate distance 0 18 inches reserved for those people who we are most intimate romantic appropriate touching whispering Personal 18 inches 4 feet friends and family Public 12 feet formal communication purposes teaching debates Social 4 12 feet cocktail party non intimate interactions lectures Territoriality Altman 1975 ownership of space Primary under our own domain we personally own car house Secondary have a strong association with them talk about them like we own them but don t actually own them office company school seat in class Public public used facilities beaches restaurants public transportation Assumptions Guiding EVT Communication is driven by expectations every time were in a communication situation we have expectations for what should happen in that situation Expectations are learned from parents culture interactions with others People make predictions about nonverbal behavior Key Concepts Proxemic Zones Expectancy Violations we come into situations with expectations of people s behavior ex Meeting someone for the first time expect them to shake your hand if they don t shake your hand because they give you a hug expectations have been violated Arousal cognitive and or physical peaked interest o Cognitive what s going on in your head what just happened This is o Physical what happens to you physically step back from the weird situation body tenses up Threat threshold people s individual level of tolerance for violations Violation Valence how do we evaluate the violation Do we see it as a positive or negative thing Communicator Reward Valence evaluating the violator Explanation People hold expectations about the nonverbal behavior of others Expectancy violations are arousing and ambiguous aroused but don t know exactly what to do To reduce this arousal ambiguity we attempt to interpret meaning from EVs How we interpret an EV depends on the communicator reward valence o High reward value can reward us in some way if we like them are attracted to them power more acceptable for these people to violate our expectations ex Doctors o Low reward value can punish you in some way The higher the reward value of the communicator the more likely we will assign positive meaning ex Positive violation valence to the EV Positives Clear in scope and boundaries Valid we can see it happening in the real world Testable Heuristic theory expanded to include o Verbal violations BUrgoon Newton Walther Baesler 1989 o Emotional communication BUrgoon 1993 o Uncertainty reduction Afifi and Burgoon 2000 o Applied to relational communication conversation management impression management social influence Midas touch research Gueguen 2003 Criticisms Inadequately addresses culture Self reports of arousal can be misleading Issues in Defining Communication Cognition thought perception Metatheoretical Assumptions Ontological Epistemological consistent with social scientist Axiological value free
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