Examples Of Cognitive Dissonance
Have you ever done something you are normally against and immediately had that feeling of unrest? That feeling is known as cognitive dissonance. Tension arises when one is simultaneously aware of two inconsistent cognitions or a cognition and behavior. Cognitive Dissonance theory is: When people behave in a way that is inconsistent with their existing attitude(s), they experience discomfort. For example, a student researching a topic for a thesis may experience cognitive dissonance when it comes to cheating or plagiarizing material for their paper. The student will feel shame and said shame is a result of cognitive dissonance. The student will experience dissonance because they know that cheating is wrong, but have done it anyway. This idea
of dissonance is definitely learned. Although, there are certain situations where we experience dissonance and the dissonance doesn’t have to be taught. For example, if we are brought up to believe that stealing is wrong and we do so anyway we will experience dissonance during the event and after the event occurs. Cognitive dissonance could be part of our conscience; I think one of the reasons we experience cognitive dissonance in the situation of the student plagiarizing on the thesis, the student experiences dissonance because the education system frowns upon cheating. This idea of what is right or wrong is wired in our brains from birth. This could be the reason our parents get angry with us when we do something, such as going to our friends house without their permission or smoking cigarettes without them knowing. Cognitive dissonance would be experienced in this situation when the person lights the cigarette and after. For the situation with the student the student would experience dissonance during the time they were cheating and after the paper was handed in. I personally believe that people experience cognitive dissonance due to a threat to their personal and public self-image. Let’s say we wanted to conduct a study proving whether public concept or private concept matters more to people, we must first round up our group of testers and I would use confederates to try to sway the opinions and beliefs of the subjects. (Similar to Asch) The confederates and the subjects would be given a task in which they would have to make an opinionated statement and act passionately about said opinion (which would be drastically different from that of the subject). The way to test if public or private self-concept matters more is to see if the subjects conform to the confederates or not. Our upbringing isn’t the only thing that affects the way we see ourselves. It is also based upon whether we were raised in a Western or Eastern culture. Western cultures have a very individualistic sense of self and will, for a majority, make the choice that best suits them. Whereas, Eastern societies are more collectivistic in their views and will constantly be thinking about how the group will benefit from their actions. There are three ways cognitive dissonance can be fixed. Using the example of cheating on a diet, let’s say the person wants to decrease their cognitive dissonance, they have the options of changing the behavior (i.e. I won’t eat junk food), changing the cognition (i.e. it’s okay to cheat on my diet sometimes), or adding a cognition (i.e. I will exercise more when I eat junk food.) These methods of changing behavior are universal and can be used by anyone, at any time. Cognitive dissonance is all about how we feel when our actions are not in line with our thinking. Culture is the main aspect that affects dissonance (i.e. whether you live in a Western or Eastern culture, or whether your culture is collectivistic, or individualistic.)
of dissonance is definitely learned. Although, there are certain situations where we experience dissonance and the dissonance doesn’t have to be taught. For example, if we are brought up to believe that stealing is wrong and we do so anyway we will experience dissonance during the event and after the event occurs. Cognitive dissonance could be part of our conscience; I think one of the reasons we experience cognitive dissonance in the situation of the student plagiarizing on the thesis, the student experiences dissonance because the education system frowns upon cheating. This idea of what is right or wrong is wired in our brains from birth. This could be the reason our parents get angry with us when we do something, such as going to our friends house without their permission or smoking cigarettes without them knowing. Cognitive dissonance would be experienced in this situation when the person lights the cigarette and after. For the situation with the student the student would experience dissonance during the time they were cheating and after the paper was handed in. I personally believe that people experience cognitive dissonance due to a threat to their personal and public self-image. Let’s say we wanted to conduct a study proving whether public concept or private concept matters more to people, we must first round up our group of testers and I would use confederates to try to sway the opinions and beliefs of the subjects. (Similar to Asch) The confederates and the subjects would be given a task in which they would have to make an opinionated statement and act passionately about said opinion (which would be drastically different from that of the subject). The way to test if public or private self-concept matters more is to see if the subjects conform to the confederates or not. Our upbringing isn’t the only thing that affects the way we see ourselves. It is also based upon whether we were raised in a Western or Eastern culture. Western cultures have a very individualistic sense of self and will, for a majority, make the choice that best suits them. Whereas, Eastern societies are more collectivistic in their views and will constantly be thinking about how the group will benefit from their actions. There are three ways cognitive dissonance can be fixed. Using the example of cheating on a diet, let’s say the person wants to decrease their cognitive dissonance, they have the options of changing the behavior (i.e. I won’t eat junk food), changing the cognition (i.e. it’s okay to cheat on my diet sometimes), or adding a cognition (i.e. I will exercise more when I eat junk food.) These methods of changing behavior are universal and can be used by anyone, at any time. Cognitive dissonance is all about how we feel when our actions are not in line with our thinking. Culture is the main aspect that affects dissonance (i.e. whether you live in a Western or Eastern culture, or whether your culture is collectivistic, or individualistic.)