Cognitive Dissonance Theory and Social Influence

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Cognitive Dissonance Theory and Social Influence
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Cognitive Dissonance
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Cognitive Dissonance Theory

• Leon Festinger (1957)
• Exists whenever a person has two contradictory
  cognitions (or beliefs) at the same time
• Example
• I am a loyal and considerate friend.
• Yesterday I repeated some juicy gossip I heard
  about my friend.

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• Two cognitions are dissonant
• Each one implies the opposite of the other
• According to Festinger, cognitive dissonance
  creates unpleasant psychological tension
• Tension motivates the individual to try to
  resolve the dissonance in some way

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How?

• Changing ones attitude is the easiest way to
  reduce discomfort
• Example
• Chris is not really my friend, he is more of an
  acquaintance.
• My attitude now fits my new behavior
• Spreading gossip about someone who is not a true
  friend does not contradict that I am a loyal and
  considerate friend.

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OR

• I need to discuss this news in order to
  determine if this news is true about Chris.
• OR Terry doesnt know Chris so therefore it is
  ok to talk about Chris.
• OR Small bribes reduce dissonant behavior

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Leon Festinger
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Norms
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Norms

• Cultural Norm the behavioral rules shared by an
  entire society
• Behavior is also shaped by the norms of smaller
  organizations (like the Goth kids), such as
  families, teams and communities
• Norm A shared idea or expectation about how to
  behave

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• Some norms are written into law or official rules
• Others are more unwritten expectations enforced
  by teasing, frowns, ostracism and other informal
  means of punishment
• Without NORMS life would be chaotic
• With them behavior becomes predictable despite
  great differences in underlying attitudes and
  preferences
• http//www.youtube.com/watch?vjaugP7codEo

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Conformity
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Conformity

• Conformity Voluntarily yielding to social
  norms, even at the expense of ones own
  preference.
• Implies a conflict between the individual and the
  group a conflict that people resolve by
  yielding their preferences or beliefs to the
  norms or expectations of a larger group.

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Solomon Asch1950s
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• http//www.youtube.com/watch?vR6LH10-3H8k
• Solomon Asch conducted the first systematic study
  of the subject.
• He demonstrated in a series of experiments that
  under some circumstances people will conform to
  group pressures even if this forces them to deny
  obvious physical evidence

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Results

• Overall, participants conformed 35 of the
  trials
• 2 Important variables
• 1. Characteristics of the situation
• Size likelihood of conformity increased until
  the size of the group reached four confederates.
• After that number made no difference in the
  participants tendency to ignore the evidence
  with their own eyes
• Nature of the task task is difficult or poorly
  defined, conformity tended to be higher
• 2. Characteristics of the individual
• The more an individual is attracted to a group,
  expects to interact with that group in the
  future, holds a relatively low status in the
  group, and does not feel completely accepted by
  the group, the more the that person tends to
  conform.

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Compliance

• Compliance a change in behavior in response to
  an explicit request from another person or group.

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3 Techniques

• How do you get people to comply?
• 1. Foot-in-the-Door Effect Once people have
  granted a small request, they are more likely to
  comply with a larger one.
• This technique realigns the participants self
  perception slightly to that of someone who favors
  the cause

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• 2. Lowball Procedure steps
• Step 1 Induce a person to agree to something
• Step 2 Raise the cost of compliance

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• 3. Door-in-the-Face Effect A person who refuses
  to comply with one request may be more likely to
  comply with a second.
• If saying no to the first request made you feel
  guilty, you may say yes to something else.

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Obedience

• Obedience is a change in behavior in response
  to a command from another person, typically an
  authority figure.

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Milgram

• http//www.youtube.com/watch?vy6GxIuljT3wfeature
  PlayListpC2887F2E31246625playnext1playnext_f
  romPLindex10
• Factors that contribute to obedient behavior
• Presence of a uniform
• Surveillance people need to be watched
• Diffusion of responsibility
• Why?
• People see themselves as agents of another
  persons wishes and therefore not responsible for
  their own actions or consequences.

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Why?

• People see themselves as agents of another
  persons wishes and therefore not responsible for
  their own actions or consequences.
• Once this shift in self perception occurs
  obedience follows.
• How to tell authority figure is treacherous?