Cognitive Dissonance Theory

2 Pages 606 Words

Why do human beings make the decisions that they do, and what triggers a person to take action at any given point? These questions can be answered by evaluating the Cognitive Dissonance Theory. Leon Festinger developed this theory in order to explain why people attempt to reduce dissonance and try to maintain constant relationships. A dissonant relationship exists between elements that are in disequilibria with one another. Cognitive dissonance can occur intrapersonally as well as between two or more people. With individual cognitive dissonance the individual longs for consistency within his or her own mind. Second, there exist dissonance between two or more people. This occurs when two people have differing opinions about a particular issue. According to this theory individuals will make decisions that will promote consistency in their cognitions. Thus, individuals employ several different coping strategies to deal with dissonance. Every person experiences some type of dissonance almost everyday. My experience to dissonance for this paper will examine the different reactions that my friend had to my different opinions concerning smoking. I have attempted to persuade my friends to stop smoking. While attempting the momentous task I observed Festinger’s theory of cognitive dissonance at work. For example, I told one of my friends that I was concerned about how much they had been smoking recently. He quickly told me that, “my grandfather smoked for nearly all his life and he is in good health.” In this particular instance we can see the basic premise of the consistency theories at work. The guy who said this statement likes me and is my friend. He also enjoys smoking. When I made the statement that I was concerned with the levels of tobacco consumption he disregarded my opinion by using past experiences as evidence to back his point. He is a friend so I assume he somewhat values my opinion, but he upgraded his opinion of smoking and...