Theories Of Cognitive Dissonance
Cognitive dissonance refers to any situation involving conflicting beliefs, attitudes, or behaviors. According to the text, A First Look at Communication Theory, cognitive dissonance is the distressing mental state that people feel when they find themselves doing things that don’t fit with what they know, or having opinions that do not fit with other opinions they hold. This produces a feeling of discomfort, which leads to a change in one of the beliefs, attitudes, or behaviors to reduce discomfort and restore balance. “The tension of dissonance motivates us to change either our behavior or our belief in an effort to avoid that distressing feeling. The more important the issue and the greater the discrepancy between our behavior and our
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Festinger’s first hypothesis was that selective exposure prevents dissonance. “Selective exposure is the tendency people have to avoid information that would create cognitive dissonance because it’s incompatible with their current beliefs (Griffin 219). It is human nature for people to surround themselves with others who are like them. For example, people who struggle with obesity tend to constantly be around others with the same struggles. Their similar eating habits gives them a sense of comfort that they may not feel with others, and allows them to continue their unhealthy habits guilt …show more content…
When I was about eighteen years old a good amount of my friends began getting tattoos, and I wanted one desperately. Much to my parents dismay I set up an appointment at a tattoo shop before even knowing what I wanted. I showed up beyond ready and excited and handed the artist the drawing of my tattoo. Once the artist started inking my body I was filled with the most mixed emotions and suddenly wasn’t all that excited anymore. What if this is a mistake? What if my parents hate it? What if I hate it? Oh my god, this permanent what did I just do! The doubts I was feeling completely ruined my whole experience up until the moment my mother and father saw my tattoo, and expressed how much they loved it. I needed that reassurance just to know that I made the right
Festinger’s first hypothesis was that selective exposure prevents dissonance. “Selective exposure is the tendency people have to avoid information that would create cognitive dissonance because it’s incompatible with their current beliefs (Griffin 219). It is human nature for people to surround themselves with others who are like them. For example, people who struggle with obesity tend to constantly be around others with the same struggles. Their similar eating habits gives them a sense of comfort that they may not feel with others, and allows them to continue their unhealthy habits guilt …show more content…
When I was about eighteen years old a good amount of my friends began getting tattoos, and I wanted one desperately. Much to my parents dismay I set up an appointment at a tattoo shop before even knowing what I wanted. I showed up beyond ready and excited and handed the artist the drawing of my tattoo. Once the artist started inking my body I was filled with the most mixed emotions and suddenly wasn’t all that excited anymore. What if this is a mistake? What if my parents hate it? What if I hate it? Oh my god, this permanent what did I just do! The doubts I was feeling completely ruined my whole experience up until the moment my mother and father saw my tattoo, and expressed how much they loved it. I needed that reassurance just to know that I made the right