CHAPTER 7 COGNITIVE DISSONANCE THEORY Principles of the theory Mind is intermediary between stimulus and response New stimuli are organized into a pattern with other previously encountered stimuli If the new stimulus is inconsistent then people feel discomfort Cognitive dissonance is the feeling of discomfort resulting from inconsistent attitudes thoughts and behaviors Looks at when you have inconsistency in your thoughts and behaviors our body doesn t like it and we try to reduce it Theory at a Glance People are motivated to reduce dissonance and will o Ignore opposing viewpoints o Change their beliefs to match their actions and vice versa o Seek reassurance after making a difficult decision Types of Cognitive Relationships Consonant relationships Beliefs are at equilibrium with one another they go together Dissonant relationships Beliefs are at disequilibrium with one another they don t match up negative Irrelevant relationships Beliefs have nothing to do with one another Assumptions of CDT 1 Human beings desire consistency in their cognitions and do not enjoy inconsistencies in their thoughts and beliefs We like everything to be constant and in order 2 Dissonance is created by psychological inconsistencies as opposed to logical inconsistencies which arouse cognitive dissonance Example against yourself drinking and driving but will ride in the car with someone who is drinking and driving 3 Dissonance is an aversive state that drives people to actions with measurable effects Dissonance is uncomfortable We don t like it and we make efforts to get rid of it 4 Dissonance motivates efforts to achieve consonance and to reduce dissonance Actually drives us and motivates us to get rid of the dissonance and create consonance How human behavior reaches this level Dissonance lack of harmony Consonance agreement or compatibility between opinions or actions Concepts of Cognitive Dissonance Magnitude of dissonance is the quantitative amount of discomfort felt Factors that Influence the Magnitude of Dissonance 1 Degree of importance of the issue 2 Dissonance ratio Example you smoke but stay healthy 3 Rationale to justify the inconsistency Example we can come up with excuses for our behavior o Smoke but stay healthy I am only smoking to deal with the stress to graduate from college but then I will quit explains the inconsistency which decreases the magnitude Coping with dissonance Cognitive Cognitive dissonance and perception a An individual can add or subtract cognitions to change the ratio of consonant to dissonant cognitions of our beliefs b An individual might try to reduce the importance of the dissonant beliefs c An individual might distort information or stimuli in an effort to reduce dissonance eliminate the dissonance People will avoid information that increases dissonance Selection Process 1 Selective exposure seeking out consistent information already present to actively expose ourselves to information that will confirm what we want it to confirm Example buying a new car makes you think after you purchase the car You will expose yourself to information afterwards to remind yourself that you did the right thing and bought the right car 2 Selective attention as it comes across you pay attention to the stuff that will be consistent with you and ignore the stuff that won t you select what you pay attention to Example when watching TV the Toyota commercial comes on and you don t pay attention but then the Mazda commercial comes on and you pay attention 3 Selective interpretation interpret information to go along with consistent behaviors you have ambiguous information and how you interpret it Example out at a party and its awkward when you see your ex with a new girlfriend when leaving saying Have a good one can come across as have a good night friend or yeah I won and I am doing better without you whats up now It is however you interpret it 4 Selective retention selecting information that you want to remember Example the person that wants to go camping will remember everything good about camping and the person that wants to go to Europe will remember all the good things about Europe It is what you remember after time Minimal justification is offering the least amount of incentive necessary to obtain compliance Minimal justification requires more change on a person s part to reduce dissonance 1 20 experiment Festinger Carlsmith 1950 CDT and Persuasion Much of CDT research focuses on persuasion and decision making Persuasion Studies focused on buyer s remorse 1 Automobile Purchases Donnelly Ivancevich 1970 After people make the decision they are given a lot of information that backs it up telling them they made the right decision which makes them feel less dissonance 2 Gambling Knox Inkster 1968 Brownstein Read Simon 2004 More confident on your bet after you have placed the bet than before you have placed the bet 3 Quitting Smoking Simmons Webb Brandon 2004 Watched a movie about all the bad things about smoking vs being in the video telling the kids not to smoke that video will help you quit smoking Being involved and telling others to quit will help you have the desire to quit Critique of Cognitive Dissonance Critical Strengths of CDT Generally useful and explanatory Heuristic Criticisms of CDT o Offers insight into the relationship among attitudes cognitions affect and behaviors o Basis for over a thousand studies Lacking a high degree of practical utility o Testability o Difficult to prove wrong o Biased scanning Janis Gilmore 1965 o Impression management Cooper Fazio 1984 o Self perception Bern 1967 o Self affirmation Steele 1998 Come up with 2 consonant 1 I want to lose weight so I run and eat healthy 2 I want to save memories so I take photographs 2 dissonant 1 I drink coffee and then take a nap 2 I do not have any money but I go shopping 2 irrelevant relationships 1 I like math but I enrolled in a writing class CHAPTER 8 EXPECTANCY VIOLATIONS THEORY Expectancy Violations Theory EVT suggests that people have expectations about the behaviors both verbal and nonverbal of others The interest lies in the resulting impact that these deviations have on the interaction process Proxemics is the study of a person s use of space But you also need Affiliation the need to belong to a group whom you affiliate yourself with Personal Space area that you want to keep for yourself If personal space is broken interactions may be altered Intimate 0 18 inches Personal 18 inches 4 feet Proxemic Zones