COM 219 Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Cognitive Dissonance, Leon Festinger
13 Jan 2017
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Document Summary
The distressing mental state caused by inconsistency between a persons 2 beliefs or a belief and a action. When people find themselves doing things that don"t fit with what they know or having opinions that do not fit with other opinions they have. The tension of dissonance motivates us to change either our behavior or our belief in an effort to avoid that distressing feeling. People will change their thoughts to make themselves belief it is okay for them to smoke. Mental mechanisms: selective exposure > we listen to opinions and read about things that are consistent with our beliefs. Theory explains why people hold onto irrational beliefs, avoid acknowledging mistakes, Important issues or great discrepancies lead to higher magnitude of dissonance. Seek to avoid mental discomfort- try to make thoughts/ behaviors consistent. Change behavior or beliefs- whatever is easier- dissonance reduced.
