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Running head: CRASH PAPER

Communication Crash Paper

Analysis of the Cognitive Dissonance Theory

Ben Savich
2/20/17
Salt Lake Community College
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Communication Crash Paper

Introduction

This paper will discuss an experience I had working at my job six years ago and I will analyze
the conflict I had using the Cognitive Dissonance Theory. This paper will also discuss concepts
and processes of cognitive dissonance such as magnitude of dissonance, minimal justification,
and selective exposure/attention/interpretation/retention. It will end with a summary on the
application of these.

Description of the Conflict

When I was 19, I started working for a marketing and advertising company for people wanting to
make money online. I found the job on KSL, scheduled an interview, and was hired on the spot. I
was told that we were the middleman between the program they purchased and the coaching
company that would show them how to make money online via e-bay and building their own
website. We sold coaching packages ranging from $5,000 to $20,000 and majority of the time we
used their credit cards for the initial investment. After working there for about half a year I
started receiving feedback from clients that I sold when I started working there. They were upset
because they could not make enough money on the internet to make the minimum payment on
their credit card. I felt cognitive dissonance because we were promising people a steady income
online, but instead, put them in a worse off financial position.

Theory Summary and Author Background

Cognitive dissonance is the feeling of discomfort resulting from inconsistent attitudes, thoughts,
and behaviors (West, 2010, p. 113). Cognitive dissonance can occur in many areas of life, but it
is particularly evident in situations where an individual's behavior conflicts with beliefs that are
integral to his or her self-identity. In my example, I was telling people that they will make money
online and later found out that they were defaulting on their credit card payments.

Leon Festinger was born in New York City and later went on to earn his Bachelor of Science
degree from City College of New York in 1939. In 1942, he completed his Ph.D. in psychology
from Iowa State University where he studied with prominent social psychologist Kurt Lewin.

Festinger then went on to teach at a number of different academic institutions including the
University of Rochester, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the University of
Michigan, the University of Minnesota, Stanford University and the New School for Social
Research (Stanford University Press; 1957).

Festinger came up with this theory based on how people try to reach intermetal consistency. He
also mentions that people have an inner need to ensure what we believe and our actions are
consistent. The degree of dissonance people experience can depend on a few several factors,
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including how highly we value a particular belief and the degree to which our beliefs are
inconsistent.

Analysis of Conflict using the Theory

The first concept in the cognitive dissonance theory is magnitude of dissonance, which refers to
the quantitative amount of dissonance a person feels (West, 2010, p. 117). Magnitude of
dissonance will determine actions people may take and cognitions they use to reduce the
dissonance.

There are several factors that influence the magnitude of dissonance a person will feel. One of
them being the degree of importance. In my conflict, it was very important for me to help people
I sold coaching to so the magnitude of dissonance was high and affected my sales volume.

Another concept is minimal justification which means offering the least amount of incentive
necessary to obtain compliance. Festinger argues that if one wanted to obtain private change in
addition to mere public compliance, the best way to do this would be to offer just enough reward
or punishment to elicit compliance (p.95).

The experiment that Festinger and his colleague performed that established the principle of
minimal justification is the now-famous one dollar/twenty dollar study. They recruited male
students from Stanford University and assigned them to do a boring, repetitive task sorting
spools into lots of twelve and giving square pegs a quarter turn to the right. At the end of the
hour, the experimenter asked the participant to do him a favor. They researcher explained that
they needed someone to continue the task and offered to pay the participant to recruit a woman in
the waiting room by telling her how fun the task was. This woman was also part of the
experiment and was helping the researches examine how the men tried to persuade her. Some of
the men were offered one dollar to recruit the woman, whereas others were offered twenty
dollars for the same thing. Festinger and Carlsmith found that the men engaged in this study had
different attitudes at the end. Those who received twenty dollars for recruiting the woman said
they really though the task was boring, whereas those received only one dollar stated that they
really believe the task was enjoyable.

Festinger argue that doing something a person does not believe in for a minimal reward sets up
more dissonance than doing the same thing for a larger reward. If people engae in deption for a
lot of money, they will acknowledge that they did if for the money. If they engage in deception
for only one dollar, they do not have a ready explanation that will make their attitudes and
behaviors form a constant relationship. To reduce their dissonance, they have to make some kind
of change to bring consistency to their cognitions, and thats why they may change their opinion
of the task to make sense of why they told the woman in the waiting room that it was fun. Now
they believe they told her it was fun because, in fact, it was enjoyable.
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Theory Recommendation

To avoid cognitive dissonance I used selective exposure which is a method for reducing
dissonance by seeking information that is consonant with beliefs and actions (West, 2010, p.118).
I would stay in contact with success stories of people making money online and would ignore my
previous clients calls. I would browse the web searching for people who became successful with
an internet business and avoid testimonials of scams or people bad-mouthing our company.

Conclusion

Reflecting back on my conflict using the cognitive dissonance theory, I can see where I used
concepts such as magnitude of dissonance and selective exposure to reduce dissonance and keep
my employment with the company. CDT has helped me understand my cognitions and their
relationship to behaviors. I can use this theory to help me quit my bad drinking habits. Ive
noticed that I use some of the ways to reduce my dissonance that the theory talks about such as
telling myself that I dont drink that much or hanging out with people who enable me.
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References

Cherry, K. (n.d.). What Is Cognitive Dissonance? Theory and Examples. Retrieved February 20,
2017, from https://www.verywell.com/what-is-cognitive-dissonance-2795012

Judgement and decision making--Discovering psychology: Updated edition [Video file]. (2001).
Retrieved February 20, 2017, from http://fod.infobase.com/PortalPlaylists.aspx?
wID=102595&xtid=113404

West, R. L., & Turner, L. H. (2010). Introducing communication theory: analysis and application.
Boston: McGraw-Hill.