Consistency On Attitudes

Business Communication & Media

Sociology
Week 13

Cognitive Dissonance Theory

Cognitive Dissonance Theory

Festinger (1957)
Cognitive dissonance occurs when there is

inconsistency between 2 cognitions

Cognitions: knowledge, opinions, beliefs (relating to

self, behaviour, or environment)

Dissonance: A state of psychological tension which
motivates people to do something to get rid of it to
resume cognitive consistency

What is Cognitive
Dissonance?
Distressing mental state people feel when

they find themselves doing things that

dont fit with their opinions or what they
know.
An aversive drive that goads us to be

consistent.
Whenever we behave in a way that is

inconsistent a fierce all consuming drive

state enters your mind and forces you to
make a change in order to relieve that

Definition cont.
A persons conflicting thoughts or ideas

which directly cause changes in behavior or

attitudes associated with those thoughts or
ideas. (Dickens, Kuhns, & Sheets, 2013)

Cognitive dissonance in decision

making
Dissonance occurs due to continued

attraction towards rejected alternative

Reduction of dissonance by:
Viewing chosen alternative A more positively
Viewing rejected alternative B more negatively
Attitude changed as a result of making the
decision

Forced compliance paradigm

Forced compliance may involve either/both

of two elements:
counter-motivational
Performing behaviours dont want to

counter-attitudinal
Stating like things when dont really like them

Justification for attitude

change
Cognitive dissonance theory
small rewards are most likely to affect

attitude change by making the attitude to the

product more favourable.
The smaller the reward, the greater the
dissonance

Reduction of Dissonance
Selective Exposure The tendency people have to

avoid information that would create cognitive dissonance

because its incompatible with their current beliefs.
Post decision dissonance strong doubts experienced

after making an important, close-call decision that is

difficult to reverse. (This is a type of dissonance, but it is
suggestive of a person who can predict their future
dissonance and thus changes their current behavior.)
Minimal Justification a claim that the best way to

stimulate an attitude change in others is to offer just

enough incentive to elicit counter-attitudinal behavior.

Self-Perception Theory

Self-Perception Theory
Individuals come to know
their own attitudes, emotions,
and other internal states
partially by inferring them from
observations of their own overt
behavior and/or the
circumstances in which this
behavior occurs
(Bem, 1972)

Self-Perception Theory
Daryl Bem (1965, 1972) proposed the self-

perception theory as an alternative to the

cognitive dissonance theory in explaining
how attitudes are shaped.
The radical element of Bems theory is the

hypothesis that behaviour causes attitudes,

as opposed to the more conventional
notion that attitudes shape behaviour.

Self-Perception Theory
The self-perception theory is, therefore, a process of

inferring attitudes based on observing ones own behaviour.

The theory asserts that a person functions as an observer of

his/her own behaviour, and then makes attributions to

either an external (situational) or internal (dispositional)
source.
Those whose attitudes are vague or unformed are much more

likely to infer their attitudes by observing their own behaviour.

Those who possess well-defined attitudes on a particular topic,

however, are much less vulnerable to outside influences.

Self-Perception Theory
Bem argued that the subjects did not judge

the man's attitude in terms of cognitive

dissonance phenomena and that therefore
any attitude change the man might have
had in that situation was the result of the
subject's own self-perception.
Also, cognitive dissonance theory cannot

explain attitude change that occurs when

there is no upsetting dissonance state,
such as that which occurred to subjects in
studies of the over justification effect.

Organizational Commitment

Organizational Commitment
An identification with the goals and
values of the organisation, a desire to
belong to the organisation and a
willingness to display effort on behalf of
the organisation.
It is recognised as the key factor in

employee- employer relationship

Types of Commitment
Affective commitment
Continuance commitment
Normative commitment

Three Types of
Organizational
Commitment

Drivers of Overall Organization

Commitment

Affective Commitment
Employees who feel a sense of affective

commitment identify with the organization,

accept that organizations goals and
values, and are more willing to exert extra
effort on behalf of the organization.

Continuance Commitment
Continuance commitment exists when

there is a profit associated with staying and

a cost associated with leaving.
Tends to create a more passive form of

loyalty.

Normative Commitment
The sense that people should stay with

their current employers may result from

personal work philosophies or more general
codes of right and wrong developed over
the course of their lives.
Build a sense of obligation-based

commitment among employees.