Cognitive Dissonance

Cognitive Dissonance
Theory

The second theory to be explored is that of cognitive dissonance. According to Myers (2013), “The theory is simple, but its range of application is enormous, making 'cognitive dissonance' part of the vocabulary of today's educated people.” Cognitive dissonance occurs when one feels tension when two thoughts or beliefs contradict each other. People try to control the tendency of this phenomenon to occur. One way they achieve this is through selective exposure to agreeable information (Myers, 2013). When one finds insufficient justification for their actions, people find more dissonance and therefore believe more in what they had done.

Event

One event that immediately came to mind was that of my high school days. I had been on a quest to find myself, as many adolescents are. I found many of the answers I sought in the form of Christianity. My friends were constantly trying to corrupt both myself and another friend of mine that were trying to remain as pure as possible. We were encouraged to drink and curse as much as possible, among other things. For the most part we had taken the high road, but by the time senior year came along, the pressure had taken its toll. I had grown tired of trying to remain in good standing with God and chose to take part in some questionable activities. Drinking and cursing were the main activities that we took part in. I was able to draw the line at drugs and sex. It was not uncommon for me, when drinking for a few hours, to stop and have a moment of cognitive dissonance. In fact, it became so common that I eventually stopped the activities because I couldn't find justification for my own actions as well as the actions of those around me.

References

Myers, D. (2013). Social psychology. (eleventh ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Irwin.

Reactance

Reactance
Theory

The theory of reactance is that people react to protect their sense of freedom (Myers, 2013, pg 220). People react negatively to restrictions made upon their freedom, which often produces an anti-conformity response. Likewise, studies have also shown people to have a negative response to the loss of their something that has made them unique. According to Myers (2013), “In one field experiment, many nongeeky students stopped wearing a 'livestrong' wristband when nearby geeky academic students started wearing the band.” In addition, reactance may be linked to underage drinking in that adolescents are being asked to conform to the requests of their parents or the demands of society. These adolescents react by taking the exact opposite stance as what's being demanded of them (Myers, 2013).

Event

Examples of reactance are numerous, but the one that I've chosen is that of my oldest son, Jayton. Jayton is only four years old, but he knows just the buttons to push. My son has the uncanny ability to react in the exact opposite of what is intended by another party. For example, if I were to ask Jayton to go get something in another room, he would immediately begin complaining that he couldn't find it without ever having left the room. If another child has a shirt or a toy that he has or likes, he will begin complaining without really knowing or explaining why.

Jayton seems to be displaying a desire to be unique, as if all of the Superman, Batman, and Star Wars Movies, television shows, and merchandise are made just for him. He doesn't mind showing off his own uses for the merchandise, but if anyone intrudes upon this, it throws his life into disarray.

References

Myers, D. (2013). Social psychology. (eleventh ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Irwin.