SPC3210 EXAM 2 STUDY GUIDE 6 THEORIES THEORY 1 COGNITIVE DISSONANCE The Notion of Attitude Attitude is the manner disposition feeling or position one holds with regard to a person or thing a tendency or orientation especially or the mind We cannot necessarily directly observe attitudes so we have to ask people how they feel Many theories try to explain how attitudes form change and relate to other cognitive processes that influence how we think act and feel Consistency Theory Consonance when our attitudes line up with our actions we desire consistency EX I like FSU I wear a garnet shirt and watch football When our actions disagree with our values we experience dissonance Then we justify it or do something to counteract it Consistency theories deal with how our mind processes and categorizes information stimuli As information is taken in it is grouped with similar information to form a pattern that helps make it easier to understand recall the information later way to information stored in our minds it is inconsistent with the pattern attitude we have already created Because the mind processes information differently depending on the environment and type of stimuli there are several different types of Consistency Theories Sometimes even though the information we process relates in some SPC3210 EXAM 2 STUDY GUIDE PRINCIPLES OF CONSISTANCY THEORY The mind operates as an intermediary between stimulus and response When people receive information a stimulus their minds organize it into a pattern with other previously encountered stimuli If the new stimulus does not fit the pattern or is inconsistent then people will feel discomfort As a result they will then take steps to reduce the discomfort Heider s Balance Theory looks at cognitive elements of relationships and the attitudes evaluations that are attached to these relationships Attitudes as a Balancing Act CD focuses on the balance between the pieces of information in our heads that come together to form our attitude about something Creator of CD Leon Festinger Cognitive Dissonance is a feeling of imbalance where we do or say thing things that done fit with our established beliefs opinions or values and we become uncomfortable as a result In order to lessen the uncomfortable feelings that dissonance produces we are driven to reduce or eliminate dissonance principles of Cognitive Dissonance Theory change Dissing the Dissonance The inner motivation to eliminate dissonance is one of the core The motivation to eliminate CD can result in behavior and attitude We try to rationalize the dissonance in our lives 3 Types of Dissonance Relationships 1 Consonant Relationship our beliefs and behaviors coincide SPC3210 EXAM 2 STUDY GUIDE 2 Dissonant Relationship our beliefs do not fit with our behaviors 3 Irrelevant Relationship beliefs and behaviors do not relate EX superstitions lead to dissonance 4 Assumptions of CD Theory 1 Humans want consistency between thoughts and beliefs 2 Psychological inconsistencies when beliefs behaviors don t fit together 3 Dissonance is cognitively uncomfortable 4 We are psychologically driven to reduce dissonance Consider the triangle below Imagine that it is a visual representation about the ongoing discussion with your best friend about college YOU P O Best Friend Choice of College X There are attitudes evaluations attached to this relationship In general people prefer a balanced relationship between P O X whether it is positive or negative overall But what happens if there is a piece of information that doesn t fit and could potentially change the way you evaluate a component of that relationship SPC3210 EXAM 2 STUDY GUIDE Concepts Processes Magnitude of Dissonance How strong your feelings of dissonance are will influence what you do to reduce those icky feelings you have about your friend becoming a Gator 3 Factors Magnitude 1 How important the issue event is EX Eating a snickers on a diet 2 The dissonance ratio the number of dissonant vs consonant feelings EX Someone who has a history of diabetes who is over weight eats you have about an issue event the snickers bar will have a higher ratio of dissonance 3 The strength of reasoning used to justify the discrepancy between dissonant consonant feelings EX Able to justify things friend going to UF and you say the friendship is more important Concepts Processes Magnitude of dissonance The quantitative amount of dissonance a person experiences Magnitude of dissonance will determine actions people may take and 3 factors influence the magnitude of dissonance cognitions they may espouse to reduce the dissonance 1 The degree of importance or how significant the issue is affects the 2 If the source of dissonance is not a significant part of an individual s degree of dissonance felt life there will not be as much dissonance as there would be if the source is of great personal significance to that individual 3 The amount of dissonance is affected by the dissonance ratio or dissonant cognitions relative to the amount of consonant cognitions A particular situation may elicit both consonant and dissonant Dissonance ratio examines the balance between these cognitions cognitions SPC3210 EXAM 2 STUDY GUIDE The magnitude of dissonance is affected by the rationale that a person The rationale refers to the reasoning employed to explain why an can summon to justify the inconsistency inconsistency exists If an individual has a series of reasons that he or she feels are valid explanations for the discrepancy that individual will fell less dissonance Coping with Dissonance Many of the techniques to decrease dissonance are cognitively based o We rationalize our dissonant behavior by justification Mentally cognitions to reduce your dissonance ratio Convince yourself that the dissonant feelings are NOT as important as you originally thought EX Its ok to spend a little money you only live once Distort the dissonant information to make it fit with your original beliefs EX You see something good about Donald trump and you distort it to be bad this changes our perception CD Perception In general people will work to avoid information that increases dissonance 4 Basic Ways 1 Selective Exposure seeking out info that is consonant with existing beliefs attitudes helps us avoid and reduce dissonance like seeks like seeking confirmation of personal beliefs 2 Selective Attention paying attention to information that is consonant with attitudes beliefs SPC3210 EXAM 2 STUDY GUIDE 3 Selective
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