SelfJustification

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Self-Justification
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Cognitive Dissonance

• Festinger Carlsmith (1957)
• Peg-Turning experiment
• boring experimental task
• participants then asked to fill-in for missing
  experimenter by telling future participant that
  the study is exciting
• Three Conditions
• paid 1 to do the favor
• paid 20 to do the favor
• control condition (no favor asked)
• Dependent Variable
• attitude change toward the experimental task

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Cognitive Dissonance

• Feelings of discomfort caused by inconsistent
  cognitions and/or behaviors
• Most powerful when we
• perform an action
• learn something that threatens our self-image
• We attempt to reduce dissonance by
• changing behaviors
• changing cognitions
• adding consistent cognitions
• We tend to discount inconsistent information
  (Jones Kohler, 1959)

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Cognitive Dissonance

• After making a decision between two alternatives,
  
• the attractiveness of the chosen alternative
  increases,
• the attractiveness of the discarded alternative
  decreases (Brehm, 1956)
• The more permanent the choice, the stronger the
  dissonance (Knox Inkster, 1968)

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Cognitive Dissonance

• Ben Franklin Effect
• when a person does you a favor, it makes them
  like YOU more
• Why?
• Cognitive Dissonance Culture
• less prevalent in collectivist cultures
  (Triandis,1995 Hong, 1992)

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Cognitive Dissonance

• Cognitive Dissonance in the real world
• doomsday cults conspiracy theories
• Vietnam War McNamara
• hazing rituals

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Cognitive Dissonance