PSYCH253 Lecture Notes - Lecture 11: When Prophecy Fails, Cognitive Dissonance, Participant Observation
26 Oct 2018
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Cognitive dissonance theory the big grand daddy theory in social psychology. Cognitive dissonance theory is about a specific problem. Great example of the person and the situation. Cognitive dissonance is aroused whenever someone holds two cognitions that are psychologically inconsistent. Need to resolve dissonance cognition #2 it will kill me. People resolve it in the easiest way: (cid:862)i"(cid:373) goi(cid:374)g to quit s(cid:373)oki(cid:374)g(cid:863) harder than below, (cid:862) (cid:373)oki(cid:374)g is(cid:374)"t that bad(cid:863) How people change their thoughts to go with their behaviours when ther are in conflict. Most people think: attitude behaviour (behaviour flows from your attitude) Festinger think: behaviour attitude (attitude flows from your behaviour) This is the basis of the theory. Study: festinger and schachter: participant observation study, found doomsday cult, this cult believes that on a certain day at a particular time, the world will end. Conflicting cognitions: the cult rationalized that they saved the world.
