Cognitive dissonance is an uncomfortable psychological state in which the human being is confronted with an inconsistency between two elements. This situation motivates the individual to find an acceptable state, notably by tending towards cohesion between his cognitions, which is called dissonance reduction.
The theory of cognitive dissonance was proposed by Festinger in his 1957 book. Subsequently, various authors have participated in further developing this famous theory. The theory of cognitive dissonance is based on three key principles. First of all, according to the first principle, two cognitions can have a relationship of compatibility, incompatibility, or irrelevance between them. For example, the cognitions “the sky is blue” and “the weather is nice” have a compatibility relationship because one follows from the other. On the other hand, the cognitions “the sky is blue” and “the weather is bad” have an incompatibility relationship because one follows from the opposite of the other. In addition, the cognitions “the sky is blue” and “I ate a pizza” have an irrelevant relationship because the two cognitions concern objects that have no relationship. Then, according to the second principle, the existence of an incompatibility relationship generates a state of psychological discomfort called cognitive dissonance which motivates the person to reduce it. Finally, according to the third principle, to reduce this state of psychological discomfort, the person resorts to strategies aimed at regaining an acceptable state of tension. Cognitive dissonance can therefore be divided into three successive phases: the awakening of dissonance; psychological discomfort; and the reduction of discomfort. The principle of cognitive dissonance has been highlighted through different paradigms. We will briefly present the most famous one.
The forced submission or induced submission paradigm is the paradigm that has been most used in dissonance experiments. In these experimental situations, the participant is asked to perform a behavior that goes against his attitude. Two variables are generally used: the participant is declared free or not to perform the task and is paid more or less for his contribution. For example, a commonly used task is to ask participants to perform a tedious, uninteresting, and generally boring task. This task can consist of sticking stickers on the letters of a text, counting the appearance of a specific letter, copying pages from a phone book, or copying a series of numbers. It is noted that a state of dissonance is generated only when the individual does not have a justification to explain his behavior. This is the case when a participant is declared free to perform the task or when he is paid little or nothing to do it. The individual will then modify his attitude by attributing positive aspects to the task.
Faced with this cognitive dissonance, the individual has three ways to reduce it. First, he can modify one of the two inconsistent cognitions as in the forced submission paradigm. Then, he can add a new cognition consonant with one of the two inconsistent cognitions. Finally, he can reduce the importance of inconsistent cognition.
Words I have learned:
cognitive dissonance = dissonance cognitive
subsequently = par la suite
the forced /induced submission paradigm = paradigme de la soumission forcée / induite
tedious = fastidieux
Bibliography:
Cooper, J. (2007). Cognitive dissonance: fifty years of a classic theory. SAGE Publications Inc. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781446214282
Fointiat, V., Girandola, F., Gosling, P. (2016). La dissonance cognitive : Quand les actes changent les idées. Armand Colin. https://doi-org.budistant.univ-nantes.fr/10.3917/arco.gosli.2013.01
Vaidis, D. C. (2011). La dissonance cognitive : approches classiques et développements contemporains. Dunod.