3.3. 2 One Instance Versus Aggregate
UNIT 4 EFFECTING ATTITUDINAL CHANGE AND COGNITIVE DISSONANCE
4.6 SELF AFFIRMATION
Another interpretation of dissonance theory with a focus on one’s self image is Steele’s self affirmation theory. According to Steele (1988), people are motivated to maintain the integrity of the self. The ultimate goal of the self is to protect an image of its self-integrity, morality and adequacy. These two premises lead to two implications:
We experience a self-image threat, after acting in a manner inconsistent with our sense of honesty or integrity.
When our self concept is threatened, we often compensate by affirming another aspect of the self. In other words, we can reduce ‘dissonance’ by affirming our integrity in some other unrelated area of our lives.
As a result, these ‘self-affirmations’ enable people to deal with threatening events and information in a more open and even-handed manner, without resorting to defensive biases. For example, if you show me that I cannot sing, I’ll go and dance even more, which I know I’m better at.
Besides reducing threats to the individual self, self-affirmations could also reduce threats to the self at a collective level, i.e. when people confront some threatening opinions or humiliating comments about the groups they belong to, such as nation or gender. For example, when someone says ‘Women are lousy drivers as their spatial ability is inferior to men’, I often cite evidence of women having better verbal and interpersonal abilities.
Individual and cultural differences have been reported in self-affirmations. For e.g. people with high and secure self esteem engage in less self-justification (Holland et al., 2002). People with high self-esteem are more likely to rely on self-affirmation than other defensive mechanism such as rationalisation. Culture also imposes some effect on the process of self-affirmation. In individualistic cultures, the self is more emphasized, and independence stands out; in collectivist cultures, kinship and interdependence are emphasized. Collectivists are less likely to be motivated to protect the self-integrity since self esteem is less emphasized in their culture.
There are numerous applications of this theory. The technique of self affirmation can also be used in multiple domains such as:
Personal relationship: When faced with an emotional upheaval in a personal relationship, the affirmation process can be done by writing down positive
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Attitudes and Behaviour statements about our partners, such as how they care about us and what we appreciate in them (Sherman & Cohen, 2006).
Health: Self-affirmation is an effective tool in health interventions. In a group-based cigarette cessation program for smokers, those who received a self-affirmation intervention had a lower defensiveness towards graphic cigarette warning labels than a control group. Moreover, these self-affirmed smokers also had a stronger intention to quit smoking (Harris et al., 2007).
Research has found that providing people with affirmation opportunities on alternative sources of self-integrity lead to a less biased evaluation to threatening information. Self-affirmation thus increases the openness of people to ideas that are difficult to accept.
4.7 LET US SUM UP
In this unit, we have discussed four possible reasons of why behaviour affects attitudes. Self presentation theory suggests that we express attitudes that make us appear consistent in order to fulfill two motives: instrumental and expressive.
We establish and maintain impressions that are congruent with the perceptions we want to convey to others. This theory however does not explain genuine attitude change. The other theories propose that our actions trigger genuine attitude change, but offer different explanations of why this occurs.
Cognitive dissonance theory assumes that we justify our actions to ourselves because we want to reduce the discomfort experienced due to inconsistency between two or more of our attitudes or between our attitudes and our behaviour.
Dissonance theory contends that attitude change is effected because people are motivated to reduce this unpleasant tension. Self-perception theory assumes that we form and develop attitudes by observing our own behaviour, in a similar way as we use other people’s behaviour to infer what their underlying attitudes are.
This is particularly true when our attitudes are weak and less important to the self. Self affirmation theory explains how we reduce the impact of a threat to our self-concept (after acting in a manner inconsistent with our sense of honesty or integrity) by focusing on and affirming our competence in some other area.
4.8 UNIT END QUESTIONS
1) What is meant by cognitive dissonance? How does it help to change attitudes?
2) What are the main tenets of self presentation theory?
3) Differentiate between cognitive dissonance theory and self perception theory.
4) Suppose that you are a non vegetarian and you are required to campaign for animal rights. Describe this state and explain how you will reduce this inconsistency.
5) Explain how self affirmations reduce the impact of threat to our self-concept.
6) Discuss self perception and self affirmation?
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Effecting Attitudinal Change and Cognitive Dissonance Theory, Compliance of perception Theory, Self-affirmation
4.9 GLOSSARY
Cognitive Dissonance : An uncomfortable internal state that results when people realize that there is inconsistency between two or more of their attitudes or between their attitudes and their behaviour.
Hypocrisy : When an individual publicly advocates some attitudes or behaviour, but acts in a way that is inconsistent with them.
Individualism/Collectivism : One value dimension on which national cultures differ (Hofstede, 1980). People are individualists, when they take care only of themselves and their families; they are collectivists when they distinguish between ingroup and outgroups and expect their ingroups (relatives, clans, organisations) to look after them, in exchange for being loyal to them.
Post decision dissonance : A state of anxiety experienced after making a decision regarding the possibility of it being wrong. It is usually reduced by increasing the importance assigned to the positive features of the chosen alternative, and increasing the importance assigned to the negative features of the nonchosen alternative.
Self monitoring : The process through which people regulate their own behaviour in order to ‘look good’ so that they will be perceived by others in a favorable manner.
4.10 SUGGESTED READINGS AND REFERENCES
Myers, D. G. (2010). Social Psychology, 10th Ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.
References
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Attitudes and Behaviour Ajzen, I. (1991). The theory of planned behaviour. Organisational Behaviour and Human Decisions Processes, 50, 179-204.
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Aronson, E. (1969). The theory of cognitive dissonance: A current perspective.
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Breckler, S.J. (1984). Empirical validation of affect, behaviour, and cognition as distinct components of attitude. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52, 384-389.
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Eagly, A.H. & Chaiken, S. (1993). The psychology of attitudes. San Diego, CA:
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Fazio, R. H. (1995). Attitudes as object-evaluation associations: Determinants, consequences, and correlates of attitude accessibility. In R. E. Petty J. A. Krosnick (Eds.), Attitude strength: Antecedents and consequences (pp. 247-282). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
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Fazio, R.H. & Zanna, M.P. (1978). Attitudinal qualities relating to the strength of the attitude-behavior relationship. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 14(4), 398-408.
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Fishbein, M. & Ajzen, I. (1975). Beliefs, attitude, intention, and behaviour: An introduction to theory and research. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
Goffman, E. (1959). The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. Garden City, NY: Doubleday Anchor.
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Hofstede, G. (1980). Culture’s consequences: International differences in work related values. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
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5 Introduction to Attitude and Stereotypes