PSY220H1 Chapter : Ch7 Textbook Notes
Document Summary
Feeling bad about irrational behaviour: the arousal of dissonance. A cognition is a belief or piece of knowledge. Consonant cognitions are consistent with one another, imply the other is good/valid. Dissonant cognitions are inconsistent with one another, imply the other is wrong/bad. The unpleasant feelings produced by dissonant cognitions motivate people to do something to change their state. Dissonance is defined as the state of feeling bad or conflicted about one s own irrational behaviour. Proposed that the importance of cognitions influences the amount of dissonance. Making irrational behavioural rational: the reduction of dissonance. Dissonance reduction must involve rationalization, convincing ourselves that our current or past behaviour made sense. One way to reduce dissonance is to change a dissonant cognition directly. If difficult/impossible, people might add consonant cognitions that support the behaviour and make it seem more reasonable. Dissonance can also be reduced by reducing importance of a dissonant cognition or increasing important of consonant cognition.
