Cognitive Dissonance

The cognitive dissonance is a concept worked out by Leon Festinger at the beginning of the Années 1950, following its study of a soucoupic Secte which believed that the end of the world was close and that the extraterrestrial ones would come to seek them soon.

For this Theory, the individual in the presence of Cognition S (“Knowledge S, Opinion S or Belief S on the Environment, Oneself or its clean Behavior” Festinger, 1957, p.9) incompatible between them, an unpleasant state of tension justifying feels its reduction (i.e the state of dissonance cognitive). One speaks about modes of reduction of the cognitive dissonance to indicate the strategies of restoration of a cognitive balance.

One of the unconscious means to reduce the cognitive dissonance is to forget what does not tally with its former references (process known as of rationalization ). In 2007 it was highlighted in monkeys capuchins.

Basic principles

Training versus rehabilitation

the correction of acquired ideas is more painful for an individual than the Apprentissage of novel ideas for which it does not have yet a Modèle. This phenomenon had already been announced by Jean Piaget in his work. Carl Rogers also admitted it. The examples are numerous in the history: Héliocentrisme vs. Géocentrisme, Darwinism vs. Créationnisme, etc It is to be noticed that Religion S and totalitarian systems (without it being question of comparing them directly here) marks a preference to teach their points of view as of earliest youth, as a primal model.

In the same way, of the suppliers of various materials agrees of the important reductions to the vocational schools because their pupils will be inclined to privilege in the professional life a material which they already know compared to another same less expensive or the richer in functionalities.

Of the free formations is sometimes even proposed by software publishers or manufacturers of material, in order to position them approach in the spirit of the customer who will be thus less receptive with the arguments, different, of competition.

Investment and engagement personnel

More the investment and engagement of the person cost him, less it is ready to give up it. Thus:

Plus one training was difficult, difficult or even humiliating, less the individual is ready to call into question the value of what was taught to him. That would mean indeed that it has invested for nothing . There still, the examples are legion, especially in Informatique: almost emotional attachment with a Operating system or with a text editor, for example, in spite of their manifest defects.

the Bizutage, at the time where it was tolerated, joined thereafter an attachment at an institution such, that as of the following year the bizuté became bizutor in his turn. See also the article Reversal.

One as observes at the time of investigations as more one choice was difficult and engaged (of a University, of an apartment, even of a spouse…), more one tended then to estimate to have carried out the good, and thus to forget certain elements of the Environnement having little to do with this choice. The choice of an university can imply certain philosophical positions which involve this type of cognitive Biais. For example, a scientific formation can in certain cases make underestimate the legal phenomena Culturel S or aspects.

the mechanisms of the pyramidal sales are strongly based on the irrational refusal to go into reverse whereas one was surely misled.

These phenomena join also that of Doigt in the gears.

Application in communication

A message aiming for example at modifying the behavior of a great number of people (the target) can be considered accepted only when all dissonance cognitive disappeared at the elements from the target. It is frequent that a risk of rejection remains by dissonnance cognitive, when a contradiction exists between the message and of the convictions or the practices fortements anchored at individuals. For example with the following message: " the alcohol at the wheel is a mortal danger, within the framework of the Road safety " , there is dissonance cognitive if the subject includes/understands the message while being depend on alcohol without a desire to be detached from this dependence.

To reduce this dissonance, the target can either avoid the message, or to interpret it to decrease the range of the message, until calling into question its credibility.

To make accept the message, the solution can be of crédibiliser the message while being pressed on people of Confiance (doctors, experts…), or on established facts.

Application in pedagogy

Facts contradicting the opinion that a Enfant has on itself place it in front of a cognitive dissonance: according to whether the child has good or bad image of oneself, it will be able to allot a failure or a success to the external environment, instead of allotting to itself the result. To reduce the cognitive dissonance, the child thus will seek excuses rather than to call into question his convictions.

Rosenthal and Jacobson, Pygmalion at the school (1968), also updated a phenomenon which can find direction within the framework of the cognitive dissonance. They made the following experiment: one sets up two groups of identical rats. To the moment when one gives them to the students charged to draw up them, a remark indicates that the first group is composed of endowed animals, whereas second is of poor quality. The results of raising confirm this whimsical forecast. Experiments in school go in the same direction. The adjusters adapt the results to waitings to reduce the dissonance. More surprising, in school, the group of children developed obtains better results objectively.

References

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