Transcript Consistency Theories

Cognitive consistency
theories
Humans as cognitive creatures
Cognitions form “associative
networks”
• associative networks include beliefs,
attitudes, and other cognitions
• the associations are often
unconscious, implicit
• changes in one belief or attitude may
produce a “ripple effect” elsewhere
in one’s cognitive system
Three basic assumptions of
consistency theories
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People expect, prefer
consistency
 Individuals strive to maintain
psychological harmony among their
beliefs, attitudes, behaviors
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Inconsistency causes
psychological discomfort, tension
 “Dissonance” is uncomfortable,
may even be accompanied by
physiological symptoms
•
Individuals are motivated to
restore cognitive consistency
 “Drive-reduction” model
 a form of face-saving, identity
management
Angelina Joile replaced her “Billy
Bob” tattoo
Example of an empirical study on
consistency
• Sherman & Gorkin (1980) females who
scored high on a feminism scale tried to solve
a “sex-role” problem (which they were set up
to fail).
• A control group with similar scores on the
feminism scale completed a different task.
• The failure of the treatment group to solve the
problem induced a state of psychological
inconsistency in the feminists.
• Both groups then read a transcript about a
sex discrimination case. Their task was to
decide who was wrong in the case and make
an award.
• What do you think happened?
Results of Sherman & Gorkin’s
(1980) study:
• The feminists who experienced dissonance were more
likely to find that sex discrimination had occurred and
gave much larger awards compared to the control
group.
• Why? Their decision helped to restore their selfconcept as feminists.
• Threats to one’s self image lead to attempts to bolster,
reinforce, or reestablish the threatened attitudes.
Revisions to cognitive
consistency theories
• More recently, consistency has also been viewed as socially
motivated
• the appearance of consistency matters to us
• Individuals can tolerate a certain amount of inconsistency
• especially if core beliefs, attitudes aren’t involved
• examples: Log Cabin Republicans, driving an SUV but
being pro-environment, being a vegetarian, but wearing
leather shoes
• In some cases, individuals may even strive to create
inconsistency
• example: dysfunctional relationships
Fritz Heider’s “Balance theory”
(1958)
• The “granddaddy” of all consistency theories
• The most basic, simple model
• Involves three cognitive elements, P,O,X:
• P: Person (perceiver, self)
• O: Other person
• X: Attitude object (thing, event, action)
Example of Heider’s P-O-X triad
• A child admires Popeye
• The child doesn’t like to
eat spinach
• Popeye is positively
associated with Spinach
• This is a cognitively
imbalanced state, which
should motivate the child
to change one of the
associations.
Popeye
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Consistency theory in
advertising
• A female consumer is thinking
of buying a new car
• She has a negative attitude
toward high gas prices
• The Toyota Prius is advertised
as a high mileage vehicle
• She forms a favorable
impression of the Toyota Prius
hybrid car
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female
consumer
high gas
prices
Balanced versus imbalanced
psychological states
balanced (consistent) psychological states
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imbalanced (inconsistent) psychological states
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Limitations of Balance theory
• Model is incapable of handling more than one
triad at a time (not complex psychological
relationships)
• Only one element of the triad is assumed to
change (not several elements)
• No provision for the degree or strength of the
attitudes
• No clear indication of how balance will be
restored (which element will change). Heider
states “the least effortful means” will be
employed.
Congruity Theory (Osgood,
Tannenbaum, & Suci, 1957)
• Congruity theory also presumes that people strive
to maintain consistency among their cognitions
• The theory is based upon the “semantic
differential” scale
• Congruity exists when a person holds identical
attitudes toward a source and a topic or issue.
• When incongruity exists, there is a tendency to change
cognitions so as to achieve psychological equilibrium
• When two or more attitudes are linked by an assertion
there is a tendency for both attitudes to change
Improvements over Balance
theory
• Allows for more than one attitude to change
• Allows for degrees of attitude change
• An accompanying formula allows for
precise predictions regarding the extent and
direction of attitude change
• When incongruity exists, more extreme
attitudes are less susceptible to change
• Congruity theory makes a number of
interesting, counterintuitive predictions
• Assume a person likes both
Hillary Clinton and Barack
Obama
• The person perceives that
Barack made a disparaging
remark about Hillary
• A dissociative assertion
between two positive attitude
objects results in the
decreased evaluation of both
attitude objects
-3 -2 -1 0 +1 +2 +3
Example of Congruity theory
Hillary
Barack
“mudslinging” hurts
both sources’ credibility
Limitations of congruity theory
• Model and formula only accounts for
one triad at a time.
• Counterintuitive predictions aren’t
always fulfilled in practice
• The importance and relevance of the
attitude(s) to the person is ignored
• There are other ways to achieve
congruity besides changing
evaluations of the sources or objects
Applications of consistency
theory
• Image-based advertising
• the feelings and images
associated with a brand are
powerful purchase influencers
• brands are associated with
favorable images and idealized
lifestyles
• Public information/awareness
campaigns
• D.A.R.E. program
• Seat belts save lives
• Don’t drink and drive
• Social movements
• P.E.T.A. (animal rights)
• Operation Rescue (pro-life)
maintaining and restoring
psychological consistency
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denial
bolstering
differentiation
transcendence
attitude modification
communication
favorable
attitude
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favorable
attitude
marketing consistency: have
your cake and eat it too!
• consumer guilt and environmentally, socially
conscious products
• Green stock funds
• Fair trade coffee
• Sweatshop free goods
• cause marketing
• Partnering with a high profile cause or a
non-profit organization with whom the
public sympathizes
• healthy labels
• organic
• anti-oxidants
• hypo-allergenic
marketing inconsistency:
fostering brand-switching
• sloganeering
• “Think different” (MacIntosh)
• Mac versus PC
• “Think outside the bun” (Taco
Bell)
• “It’s waaaay better than fast
food” (Wendy’s)
• “Not your father’s Oldsmobile”
(Oldsmobile)
• “I could have had a V8” (V8
juice)
Creating psychological
inconsistency
• Smoking prevention programs
try to undo “glamorous”
associations with smoking
Creating psychological
inconsistency
• Cognitive Dissonance Theory
explains what happens when
an individual’s beliefs,
attitudes, and/or behaviors are
incompatible
• The amount of dissonance
created depends upon:
• How volitional the decision is
• The importance or
consequences of the decision
• The time, effort, or sacrifice
involved in making the decision
A guilt appeal on the bus bench is designed to
induce cognitive dissonance in patrons of this
nudie-bar
cognitive dissonance theory-continued
• counter-attitudinal advocacy (CAA)
• advocating a position that is contrary to one’s
own beliefs tends to shift one’s attitudes toward
the contrary position
• commitment and cognitive dissonance
• public commitments
• fraternity initiations
• marriage rituals
• “true love waits” program
• commitments can “grow legs”
Marine “bloodpinning” ritual
Four dissonance paradigms
• Free choice paradigm: volitional •
behavior is more likely to produce
dissonance
• the more free choice one has in
making a decision, the more
dissonance one will experience.
• Belief disconfirmation: dissonance
is aroused when a person
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encounters information contrary to
his or her beliefs.
• people engage in selective
exposure to avoid dissonant
information
Induced compliance paradigm:
external inducements, rewards
reduce dissonance
• When a person is compelled to
do something, little dissonance
is aroused because the person
can rationalize the action by
saying “I had no choice.”
Effort justification: we appreciate
things more when we work for them
• The greater the effort or
sacrifice, the greater the
dissonance
Psychological commitment
• Once people become
psychologically committed to an idea
their commitment may “grow legs.”
• Michael Jackson fans: "This is a
very widespread phenomenon
where fans take a celebrity into their
hearts…and that celebrity becomes
almost bulletproof to the fan,“ (Paul
Levinson, professor of
communication and media studies at
Fordham University in New York)
Psychological commitment
• Campaign 08 and P.U.M.A.s
(aka Party Unity My Ass)
• Some Hillary Clinton fans
refused to support Obama
after he won the the
democratic nomination
Psychological commitment
• Kimmy Cash founded the
“punx4dean” Website
• Her 35th tattoo read “Dean
Hope Truth 04”
• After Howard Dean dropped
out of the presidential race, she
declared on her Website:
• “we have been through entirely
too much in this campaign to quit
now. Punks don’t give up…Do
not let this discourage you”
A tattoo honoring a presidential
drop-out