Sample content Cognitive Dissonance Analysis PSYCH 555 Cognitive Dissonance The dissonance theory, a widely used theory, provides knowledge on attitude and behavior to peers and the public. On the contrary, critics also focus in the information given in the theories and confute other views. Festinger, Carlsmith, and Bem contend that cognitive dissonance and self-perception plays a vital part in find out the consequences and impacts of conduct and character. Summary of Arguments The theory of cognitive dissonance, formulated by Leon Festinger, offers greater emphasis to the area of personality and social psychology. It states that a person looks for harmony in his or her ideas and behaviors in which two known concepts are not uniform (Fiske, 2010). Cognitive dissonance theory explains the reason why a person can alter his or her character and conduct after acting in ways not constant with those behaviors. Together with social psychologist James Carlsmith, Festinger contends

1. PSYCH 555 Week 3 Learning Team Assignment Issue Analysis Cognitive Dissonance
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Sample content
Cognitive Dissonance Analysis
PSYCH 555

2. Cognitive Dissonance
The dissonance theory, a widely used theory, provides knowledge on attitude and
behavior to peers and the public. On the contrary, critics also focus in the
information given in the theories and confute other views. Festinger, Carlsmith, and
Bem contend that cognitive dissonance and self-perception plays a vital part in find
out the consequences and impacts of conduct and character.
Summary of Arguments
The theory of cognitive dissonance, formulated by Leon Festinger, offers greater
emphasis to the area of personality and social psychology. It states that a person
looks for harmony in his or her ideas and behaviors in which two known concepts
are not uniform (Fiske, 2010). Cognitive dissonance theory explains the reason
why a person can alter his or her character and conduct after acting in ways not
constant with those behaviors. Together with social psychologist James Carlsmith,
Festinger contends that the cognitive dissonance theory gives an explanation why
people’s manners are altered following their varying manner with anger after they
have acted inconsistently with their true behavior (Nier, 2009). During the period of
an experiment performed by Festinger and Carlsmith in 1959, subjects were asked
to complete many boring assignments. The subjects were asked about the tasks by
possible subjects who invented their response. They said that that they delight in
the tasks that agree with the confuted argument made by Festinger and Carlsmith
on cognitive dissonance.
As Daryl Bem supports the Self-Perception Theory, he contends with Festinger
and Carlsmith’s theory by stating that Self-perception theory is able to interpret
attitude and behavior better than the latter. Formulated by Bem (1965), Self-
perception theory suggests that “people infer their own character, ideals, and other
internal states attitudes, opinions, and other internal states partly by examining
their behavior and the situations in which that behavior happens” (Fiske, 2010,
p109). According to the theory, looking into one’s own mind and feelings does not
guarantee appropriate guidance, as internal hints are sometimes deceptive; just as
an outside observer can incorrectly understand another individual’s internal state
(Fiske, 2010).
Consonant and Dissonant Cognition
Consonant and dissonant cognitions work hand in hand to show how individual
character and conduct are consistent or inconsistent in learning. Consistency in a
person’s life based on what he knows and believes in about himself and others see
him is referred to as consonance (Scott-Kakures, 2009). Consonant cognition
involves the gathering of certain information related to one’s thoughts or data on

3. information daily. This information could be learnings gained through spiritual
quests, financial matters, and family-related experiences. Consonance is the
driving force that dictates an individual how to behave and show his character in a
situation he sees that is consistent in his or her life (Fiske, 2010). Consonance is
diminished when an individual’s thought or conduct is altered or when new
information is disregarded. This is how dissonance cognition occurs.
Dissonance is the completely different to consonance in that it shows
inconsistency in conduct and character because there has been a change in the
established consonance. Dissonance produces expected conflict and discomfort as
an outcome of the alteration of the
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