SOC241 Lecture Notes - Lecture 12: Social Comparison Theory, When Prophecy Fails, Leon Festinger

• School: University of Alberta
• Department: Sociology
• Course: SOC241
• Professor: Sonja Sapach

Document Summary

Jan. 29th cognitive dissonance (smith & haslam chapter 3) Cog(cid:374)iti(cid:448)e disso(cid:374)a(cid:374)(cid:272)e: festi(cid:374)ge(cid:396)(cid:859)s (cid:862)e(cid:374)d of the wo(cid:396)ld(cid:863) tud(cid:455) 5th most cited psychologist of the 20th century. Cognitive dissonance- (cid:862)a(cid:374) e(cid:373)otio(cid:374)al state set up (cid:449)he(cid:374) t(cid:449)o si(cid:373)ulta(cid:374)eousl(cid:455) held attitudes o(cid:396) (cid:272)og(cid:374)itio(cid:374)s a(cid:396)e inconsistent or when there is a conflict between belief and overt behaviour. The resolution of the conflict is assumed to serve as a basis for attitude change, in that belief patterns are generally modified so as to be consistent with (cid:271)eha(cid:448)iou(cid:396). (cid:863) P(cid:396)ophe(cid:272)(cid:455) f(cid:396)o(cid:373) pla(cid:374)et cla(cid:396)io(cid:374); (cid:272)all to (cid:272)it(cid:455): f(cid:396)ee the flood, it(cid:859)ll s(cid:449)a(cid:373)p us on dec. 21, outer space tells suburbanite. The seekers led by mrs. marion keech (real name mrs. dorothy martin) the (cid:858)oute(cid:396) pa(cid:272)e u(cid:271)o(cid:396)di(cid:374)ate(cid:859) End of the world midnight, dec 21, 1955. No visitor: someone in the group notices that another clock in the room shows only 11:55. The group agrees that it is not yet midnight. The cataclysm itself is no more than hours away