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Are the factors that led to Milgram’s results the same ones that lead
to phenomena such as groupthink and risky shift? Does the fact that most Americans believe
an Adolf Hitler could never do here what he did in Germany actually make us more
vulnerable to a Hitler-type if he should ever come along? What are some ways that people
might inoculate themselves from these effects?
An elderly man suffered a severe viral infection. Manifestations of the infection included
large blisters on his back, severe muscle and joint pain, and a concomitant depressive
episode. After three months, the man recovered completely. During his final visit to his
physician, as he was being given a clean bill of health, the physician remarked that his
recovery was “remarkable for a man your age.” The physician went on to say that because of
the severity of the virus, “some people just never get over the symptoms.” Before this visit,
the man had been free of pain, his depression was lifting, and he was gradually resuming his
usual level of activity. Within two weeks, the man slipped back into his sick-role behavior of
sitting in his chair all day in front of the television. He began telling everyone he met how ill
he was, and became convinced that he would “never get any better.” Discuss with the class
the psychological mechanisms at work with this man’s “illness” and the comments made by
his physician on that last visit.
4. What would be the consequences of a race of people who were not “social animals,” who
were shy and fearful of all people and preferred to be in isolation?
5. Should parents of seventh and eighth graders try to help their children resist the norms of a
peer-group drug culture? If so, how? What other adolescent, and adult, behaviors are
subject to peer influence? Is this influence harmful or not? 6. What activities would
you arrange for your children if you wanted them to be very social, outgoing extroverts, or
the opposite, social introverts?
6. Ask the class how they might use the cognitive dissonance principle that “changing behavior
changes attitudes” to design programs for:
. Increasing a person’s low self-esteem
. Modifying a deprecatory attitude toward student protesters
. Decreasing a racial prejudice in schoolchildren
Now reverse the process and design new programs using the principle that “changing
attitudes changes behaviors” for the same problems. Which principle do you think the class
will be more successful using? Why?
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CHAPTER 17: SOCIAL PROCESSES AND RELATIONSHIPS
SUPPLEMENTAL LECTURE MATERIAL
Cognitive Dissonance
A high school girl believed the use of drugs to be physically harmful and morally wrong. She
was invited to a party given by a group from her class that she admired. Other people at the
party were using cocaine and drinking wine and, because she wanted to be accepted by the
group, she decided she should do what the others were doing. The next day she was tense and
uncomfortable because she had done something that she believed to be wrong. She was suffering
from cognitive dissonance.
The theory of cognitive dissonance was proposed in the 1950s by psychologist Leon Festinger. It
is a very simple theory, but one applicable to an enormous range of situations. Cognitive
dissonance is defined as a state of tension that exists when two (or more) cognitions are
psychologically inconsistent, with that inconsistency creating tension. Festinger considered
tension motivating because when tension occurs, there is a motive to reduce or eliminate it.
“Cognition” is a broad term that includes perception, reasoning, beliefs, values, and attitudes-any
form of knowledge or knowing. “Psychologically inconsistent” means that the individual
possessing the cognitions perceives them to be incompatible or in conflict. This is the Achilles
heel of the theory, because psychological inconsistency is subjective; it cannot be directly
observed and measured.
Dissonance sometimes occurs after making a decision that is irrevocable, or that would be very
difficult to reverse. Suppose a high school senior has narrowed his choice of colleges to two, both
equally attractive. He has to make a decision and choose one of the schools. When he chooses
one, he has to give up the things he likes about the other. What are the dissonant cognitions?