Cognitive Dissonance Treatment In Sober Living

The prediction that people can experience dissonance vicariously is based on a combination of dissonance theory with social identity theory (McKimmie, 2015; Tajfel, 1970; Tajfel & Turner, 1986; Hogg, 2001). The social group takes paramount importance in social identity theory because it is one of the major roots of people’s self-worth. They form common bonds with fellow group members, taking satisfaction in the success of their group and the successes of the individuals who comprise the group.

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With decision freedom set high, people changed their attitudes as predicted by dissonance theory, but dissonance did not operate when people were forced to behave. There are two ways in which this elegantly straightforward experiment upended traditional thinking. Within social psychology, the study made clear that dissonance theory cognitive dissonance and addiction was not the same as previous balance theories.

• One answer to that question was provided by Harmon-Jones (1999) in his action orientation model, described earlier.
• Consider if you’re working in a job you hate, suggests Michele Leno, PhD, a Michigan-based licensed psychologist and founder of DML Psychological Services.
• For example, a person who tends to binge drink will justify their behavior by saying it is just a couple drink when in reality it is an excessive amount in a short period of time.
• A third innovation in dissonance research was to posit that dissonance has a magnitude.
• The fellow student indicated that he was against a fee increase but nonetheless accepted the invitation to write it.

Advances in Experimental Social Psychology

When considering and administering therapy for addiction recovery, it’s essential to evaluate different therapeutic methods. Only when they are ready can they possibly have a chance to see the cognitive dissonance for what it is and the damage their addiction has caused. Many people need to hit personal rock bottom to see through the denial and decide that they’ve had enough. Cognitive dissonance creates a world for the addict where they can rationalize their need for the substance.

The Effect Cognitive Dissonance Has On Behaviors and Attitudes

• Cognitive dissonance can happen to anyone, and most cases resolve on their own.
• When there are conflicts between cognitions (thoughts, beliefs, and opinions), people will take steps to reduce the dissonance and feelings of discomfort.
• “It takes constant attention to work on ourselves, to continue to push to create better interactions with each other and more self-awareness,” Curry says.
• If both options are equally harmless, changing your beliefs to support the option you chose won’t have any long-term negative impacts.
• People who are forced into inconsistency do not seem to feel a need to become consistent.

21st century literature shows an accelerating number of practical procedures that are being used and assessed, particularly in the health improvement field. Based on cognitive dissonance theory, the Body Project was developed as an intervention to help people with faulty body images and eating disorders (Stice, Rohde & Shaw, 2013). Evaluation studies have shown this approach to have significant impact on eating disorders among women in a United States sample (Green et al., 2018) and body image satisfaction among men in the United Kingdom (Jankowski et al, 2017). This is as it should be, as arguably no theory has been more frequently studied, criticized, supported and modified than cognitive dissonance.

Rather than creating change as a direct function of its magnitude, reward seemed to have had the opposite effect in the dissonance situation. People who made statements for large rewards were less likely to believe their statements than people who acted for small rewards. By the end of the 1960’s, dissonance was arguably the most prominently researched theory in social psychology.

• This is when the negatives of the addiction, including guilt and shame, can dominate the decisions they make.
• In the history of science, a theory or perspective can become important because it is bold and controversial.
• We argued that hypocrisy creates dissonance because people’s recall and awareness of their past behavior is, by definition, the recollection of a potential aversive consequence.
• Staw (1974) used dissonance theory to understand the reactions of Americans to the lottery that determined whether they would be drafted for the Vietnam War.
• Elvinesh brings his strong leadership and knowledge of food quality and safety standards from his prior experience as Meat & Seafood Manager for national grocery chains to his current role as Kitchen Supervisor.
• Only those who thought their arousal was due to the inconsistency between their attitudes and their essay-writing behavior should change their attitudes, for that would be the way to reduce their arousal.
• Lisa is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with over 25 years of clinical experience working in the field of addiction treatment and mental health stabilization and care.

Forced Compliance Behavior

More than 60 years ago, Leon Festinger made a modest proposal by suggesting that people who hold two or more cognitions that are psychologically inconsistent experience a state of psychological discomfort called cognitive dissonance. Moreover, the state of dissonance has drive-like properties, motivating people to seek its reduction. That relatively straightforward description of the relationship among cognitions led to decades of research that supported, contradicted and modified the theory. It led to innovations in understanding people’s motivations for the attitudes they hold, the behaviors they engage in and the preferences they express. It also led to innovations in leveraging the dissonance process to help people with important practical considerations such as improving their mental and physical health.