SOCPSY 1Z03 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Leon Festinger, Doomsday Cult, When Prophecy Fails

• School: McMaster University
• Department: Social Psychology
• Course: SOCPSY 1Z03
• Professor: Jeff Racine

Document Summary

Predisposition to respond to a particular object in a favorable or unfavorable way. Dissonance theory deals with consistency between two or more elements (behaviours and attitudes) Cognitive dissonance = psychological tension between dissonant cognitions. Other cognitions that are dissonant with it. When our behaviours contradict existing attitudes: counter-attitudinal behaviour. Prediction: we will change/adjust our attitudes to resolve dissonance. Add a third belief that resolves conflict. Example: you consider yourself an a student, but fail your 1z03 midterm. Change your belief that you"re an a student. 1956: participant observation of doomsday cult in chicago. Guardians would save cult from global flood at 12am. Cult members engage in dissonance reduction strategies. Our belief in guardians saved world from flood . Experimental design: participant told to do boring task inserting pegs into board. Then asked to persuade another person that the task was interesting. Finally asked to rate how interesting the task was (dependent variable)