Question

Cognitive dissonance theory predicts that after people engage in counterattitudinal behavior, they will: A. convince themselves they really didn't perform the behavior. B. change their attitude to make it more consistent with their behavior. C. change their attitude to make it less consistent with their behavior. D. do nothing.

Short answer

Question: According to Cognitive Dissonance Theory, when people experience discomfort due to engaging in counterattitudinal behavior, they are most likely to: Answer: B. Change their attitude to make it more consistent with their behavior.

Step-by-step solution

Understanding Cognitive Dissonance Theory

Cognitive Dissonance Theory is a psychological concept that describes the discomfort people experience when their beliefs, values, or attitudes conflict with their actions (behavior). To reduce this discomfort, people will often try to align their thoughts and behaviors more closely.

Analyzing the options

Based on our understanding of Cognitive Dissonance Theory, let's analyze each of the given options: A. Convince themselves they really didn't perform the behavior: This option suggests denial, which can be an initial reaction to cognitive dissonance, but doesn't necessarily address the root cause of the dissonance (i.e., their conflicting attitude). B. Change their attitude to make it more consistent with their behavior: This option suggests that people will try to modify their original attitudes or beliefs to be more in line with their actual behavior. This is in line with the central tenet of Cognitive Dissonance Theory - people try to reduce their discomfort by making their thoughts and actions more consistent. C. Change their attitude to make it less consistent with their behavior: This option contradicts Cognitive Dissonance Theory, as it suggests that people would increase their cognitive dissonance rather than trying to reduce it. D. Do nothing: This option suggests people remain passive and do not try to resolve their cognitive dissonance, which is contrary to the theory that people actively attempt to minimize their cognitive dissonance.

Choosing the correct answer

Based on the analysis in Step 2, the correct answer is B. Change their attitude to make it more consistent with their behavior, as this is the response most in line with the basic premise of Cognitive Dissonance Theory. People experiencing cognitive dissonance will try to resolve the inconsistency by adjusting their beliefs, values, or attitudes to be more congruent with their actions.

Key concepts

Counterattitudinal Behavior

Counterattitudinal behavior refers to actions that are contrary to a person's beliefs or values. Imagine, for instance, someone who is an advocate for environmental conservation but finds themselves taking a long, unnecessary drive in a gas-guzzling vehicle. This behavior conflicts with their environmental values and can lead to psychological discomfort known as cognitive dissonance.

To alleviate the unease caused by this dissonance, individuals are often motivated to make changes that can reconcile the dissonant elements. One common method to resolve this tension, according to the dissonance theory, is to adjust the conflicting attitude to better align with the behavior, effectively reducing the internal conflict and restoring harmony between beliefs and actions.

Psychological Concepts

Psychological concepts are fundamental ideas or theories that help us understand the workings of the human mind and behavior. Cognitive Dissonance Theory is one such concept, offering a lens through which we can examine how people strive for internal consistency. When individuals encounter inconsistencies among their cognitions—such as beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors—they experience psychological discomfort.

This discomfort acts as a driving force, compelling individuals to reduce dissonance, often through changing attitudes or beliefs, justifying behaviors, or altering the perception of the incongruent action. The pursuit of consistency is so powerful that it can lead to rationalizations or attitude changes that appear illogical from an outside perspective, but serve the purpose of reducing internal tension.

Belief-Attitude-Behavior Consistency

Belief-attitude-behavior consistency is the alignment among what we believe, how we feel about those beliefs, and how we act on them. Cognitive Dissonance Theory posits that people have an innate drive to maintain consistency in these areas. When there is a discrepancy, for instance, engaging in counterattitudinal behavior, individuals experience cognitive dissonance.

To resolve this, they might alter their attitudes to justify the behavior, which leads to belief-attitude-behavior consistency. In the exercise, the correct answer—changing one's attitude to make it more consistent with their behavior—underscores the lengths to which individuals will go to maintain this internal harmony. Consequently, the theory explains a broad range of behaviors, including post-decisional rationalization, effort justification, and changes in personal values to accommodate actions.