What is the social comparison theory Festinger?
Festinger’s social comparison theory proposed that people who compare themselves with those who are similar to them typically produce accurate appraisals of their capabilities and beliefs.
What is Leon Festinger’s theory of cognitive dissonance?
Festinger’s theory proposes that inconsistency among beliefs or behaviours causes an uncomfortable psychological tension (i.e., cognitive dissonance), leading people to change one of the inconsistent elements to reduce the dissonance or to add consonant elements to restore consonance.
How does cognitive dissonance theory relate to social psychology?
Cognitive dissonance is a theory in social psychology. It refers to the mental conflict that occurs when a person’s behaviors and beliefs do not align. It may also happen when a person holds two beliefs that contradict one another.
What is the main argument of the social comparison theory?
Social comparison theory states that people compare themselves to one another in order to determine how they are doing in relation to others. This theory was developed by cognitive psychologist Leon Festinger in 1954, where nine hypotheses are outlined in his article, A Theory of Social Comparison Processes.
What is the contribution of Leon Festinger and James Carlsmith in social science?
Festinger and Carlsmith Leon Festinger and James M. Carlsmith (1959) conducted an experiment entitled “Cognitive Consequences of Forced Compliance”. This study involved 71 male students from Stanford University, of which 11 students were disqualified.
What is an example of cognitive dissonance theory?
Another common example of cognitive dissonance is the rationalization that takes place when people dieting “cheat.” How many times have you committed to healthy eating when a doughnut, muffin, or another delicious-looking food item threatened to take you off course? Maybe you thought, “Eh, it’s only one doughnut.
Why did the participants in Festinger and Carlsmith’s experiment come to believe their lies when paid $1 but did not when paid $20?
Festinger and Carlsmith (1959) study Cognitive dissonance explanation: -Those who were paid $1 were forced to rationalize their own judgments and convinced themselves that what they were doing is enjoyable because they had no other justification.
Why is cognitive dissonance important in social psychology?
Cognitive dissonance can even influence how people feel about and view themselves, leading to negative feelings of self-esteem and self-worth. Because people want to avoid this discomfort, cognitive dissonance can have a wide range of effects. Dissonance can play a role in how people act, think, and make decisions.
What did Festinger and Carlsmith mean by the term cognitive dissonance?
Festinger’s (1957) cognitive dissonance theory suggests that we have an inner drive to hold all our attitudes and behavior in harmony and avoid disharmony (or dissonance).
What is cognitive dissonance and how is it related to attitudes?
The term cognitive dissonance is used to describe the mental discomfort that results from holding two conflicting beliefs, values, or attitudes. People tend to seek consistency in their attitudes and perceptions, so this conflict causes feelings of unease or discomfort.
What are the three types of social comparisons?
Upward, Downward, and Horizontal Social Comparisons: Effects on Adjustment, Emotions, and Persistence in Teachers.
What are assumptions of social comparison theory?
The traditional assumption has been that upward comparisons make people feel worse about themselves and that downward comparisons make them feel better, but research has revealed that both types of comparisons can be either inspiring or dispiriting.
What was the aim of the Festinger study?
Aim. Festinger and Carlsmith (1959) investigated if making people perform a dull task would create cognitive dissonance through forced compliance behavior.
Why the participants in Festinger and Carlsmith’s study would have changed their attitude for only a $1?
In Festinger and Carlsmith’s (1959) insufficient justification study, some participants were given $1 to lie about a boring task, whereas others were given $20 to lie about the task. Which group ended up deciding that the task was actually interesting? A. The $1 group, because they had low external justification.
What is cognitive dissonance theory examples?
In “A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance,” Leon Festinger, the psychologist who first described this phenomenon, gave an example of how a person might deal with dissonance related to a health behavior by discussing individuals who continue to smoke, even though they know it is bad for their health.
Which is the best example of cognitive dissonance?
That feeling of mental discomfort about using plastic bags is an example of cognitive dissonance. This is because your beliefs are clashing with your actions or behavior. You believe that humans need to protect the environment, but you still use plastic bags. The internal conflict that this causes makes you feel bad.