Cognitive Dissonance
Theory
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.
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