Festinger's Cognitive Dissonance Theory

1) Peter M. Senge, author of The Fifth Discipline: The Art & Practice of The Learning Organization, states “People don't resist change. They resist being changed!” I recently encountered this when I conducted a training of staff members from various departments across the university on the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act ("504"). During the training, a well-qualified and nationally renowned speaker presented examples of recent and landmark court cases, common errors in compliance, best practices and the adverse effects of non-compliance in higher education institutions across the country. After the two hour training, I fully expected a flood of inquiries, requests for assistance with accessibility
Festinger (1957) describes cognitive dissonance as the internal need for consistency between beliefs, attitudes, behaviors and actions also known as cognitions. When cognitions are misaligned a dissonance is created and human nature warrants the restoration of a harmonious balance. In order to shift this paradigm, we either accept our current situation as justification for our actions, change our beliefs to match our actions or ignore the information that directly conflicts with existing beliefs. Information can also be used to confirm our incongruent cognitions. Festinger explains that dissonance is an uncomfortable state thereby either an acceptance or shift will most likely occur, especially when new information is introduced, similar to the previously mentioned ADA
Despite the number of years in existence, civil rights compliance is often induced. ADA and Section 504, the two main legislative catalysts for higher education are still active and relevant today. The ADA was signed into law twenty-six years ago and provided greater protections for fifty-two million Americans with disabilities through the equitable access to higher education. In 2008, the ADA Amendments Act (ADAAA) re-established many of the protections that were narrowed during the previous eighteen years of the original ADA.

In the face of a twenty-six year adjustment period, higher education professionals still struggle with basic compliance issues for individuals with disabilities. A detachment between the letter of the law and the purpose of the law seems to exist in the postsecondary environment demonstrated by ongoing Office of Civil Rights and Equal Employment Opportunities Commission (EEOC) open investigations and findings. According to the EEOC's Office of Research, Information, and Planning, in the fiscal year 2015, state, local and private businesses paid 128.7 million dollars in monetary benefits to employees seeking restitution due to disability-related discrimination. While the Job Accommodation Network (JAN), a