Cognitive Dissonance Of Violence Against Women

Violence against Women
In this particular study I will focus on two articles namely Cognitive dissonance, how women justify staying with a controlling partner by Claire Murphy and Domestic Violence by Continuing Psychology Education.
Cognitive dissonance, how women justify staying with a controlling partner by Claire Murphy In relation to the first article by Claire Murphy, the author expounds on the theory of cognitive dissonance, and how it affects women in marital relationships that are characterised with violence. The author strives to explain the reasons as to why women in such relationships find ways of reconciling the discrepancy between their thoughts and their actions. The author provides three prepositions that may explain why
Today the violence against women has taken a new dimension as it was in the earlier years, in which it relates to a variety of behaviours that go further than the simple physical violence. They include emotional, sexual, and physical assault, verbal abuse, humiliation, stalking, and sexual harassment by former and current intimate partners. According to the National Violence against Women Survey that was conducted by the National Institute of Justice indicated that violence between the intimate has risen in the United States. In their survey, they found that approximately 1.5 million women as well as 830,000 men are victims of intimate violence abuse each year (Continuing Psychology Education 2005). According to Tjaden and Thoennes (2000) an estimated 1.5% of women who were surveyed in the study, reported incidences of physical violence as well as rape by their current or former intimate partner within their lifetimes. The report also indicated that 8% of women were also attacked during their lifetimes. Despite the fact that such studies regarding women have not bore fruit regarding the clear solutions to do away with the vice, nonetheless, such research has facilitated the development of theoretical explanations as well as causes that are aimed at prevention and intervention programs. Among the theoretical explanations, include the
It was developed by a physiologist known as Leon Festinger. According to Murphy (2012), the cognitive dissonance is a distressing mental state in which individuals are compelled to doing things that are not in relation with what they know or rather have opinions that are not in line with other opinions they hold. In this case, women with such a mental state are trapped in an environment characterized by conflict and try to make sense of the experiences inflicted upon them, therefore, accepting violent behaviour against them. In other words, the theory of cognitive dissonance strives to explain why certain individual’s behaviours do not necessarily match with their attitudes and beliefs. According to Murphy (2012), human beings have a tendency of driving towards harmony in relation to their attitudes and