Elliot Aaronson thought the theory of cognitive dissonance according to Festinger's theory was primitive, however it has a great impact. W. McGuire exhibited in his survey in the Annual Review of Psychology (1966, page 492)dissonance theory generates more hostility and massive research than any other one approach. There has been quite a bit of research and diverse experiments. They have ranged from lab rats to children. The experiments have been general and simplistic in regard to the cognitive dissonance theory. They have been applied towards social psychological settings as well as interpersonal relations. The mind finds adverse thoughts are hard to conceive. In order to accept adverse thoughts, the mind will reduce the situation with an agreeable change of the cognitive thought.
For example, I switched from my old apartment on the 20th floor which was a one bedroom, to an apartment on the 11th floor which has two large bedrooms. The bathroom and kitchen is much smaller though. I was really upset about this but I accent the thought that I have two bedrooms, not speak of how small the kitchen and bathroom is.
Link: http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=gogc3sC6S5AC&oi=fnd&pg=PA1&dq=cognitive+dissonance+examples&ots=CE1tI5vQlT&sig=_sJvdfRF6aSqMMtPCAUhypDnzlQ#v=onepage&q&f=false
Festinger’s Theory of Cognitive Dissonance was first coined in 1954, and as the post suggests it has been investigated frequently in the years since then. It describes the feeling we have when two thoughts do not follow from one another. He proposed that the more discomfort we feel, the greater is our desire to reduce the dissonance of the two thoughts.
ReplyDeleteIn an article in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology (Vol. 76, No.2, 347-354) a group of researchers investigated the use of a cognitive dissonance intervention. They found that the cognitive dissonance intervention had an effect on the risk factors, particularly with respect to internalization, body dissatisfaction and bulimic pathology.
It is interesting to see how in the years since 1954, this theory has been used and investigated in such a wide range of issues.