Motivational basis of dissonance: The singular role of behavioral consequences.

This article provides the first empirical test of the idea that discrepancy is not needed in order to arouse cognitive dissonance. Dissonance was aroused when Ss felt responsible for some aversive consequence, regardless of whether their behavior was consistent (writing a proattitudinal essay) or inconsistent (a counterattitudinal essay) with beliefs. The data demonstrate that in both situations, dissonance is aroused. This result, based on the dissonance motivation model of J. Cooper and R. H. Fazio (1984), strongly suggests that the motivational basis for dissonance is the felt responsibility for aversive consequences. The theoretical implications of this outlook are explored, including a discussion of the many ways that it expands the applicability of dissonance theory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

What predicts psychological resilience after disaster? The role of demographics, resources, and life stress.

A growing body of evidence suggests that most adults exposed to potentially traumatic events are resilient. However, research on the factors that may promote or deter adult resilience has been limited. This study examined patterns of association between resilience and various sociocontextual factors. The authors used data from a random-digit-dial phone survey (N = 2,752) conducted in the New York City area after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attack. Resilience was defined as having 1 or 0 posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms and as being associated with low levels of depression and substance use. Multivariate analyses indicated that the prevalence of resilience was uniquely predicted by participant gender, age, race/ethnicity, education, level of trauma exposure, income change, social support, frequency of chronic disease, and recent and past life stressors. Implications for future research and intervention are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-image and stereotypes of femininity: Their relationship to women's role conflicts and coping.

Explored self-image, the female image of a feminine woman, and the female perception of the man's image of a feminine woman as these are related to role conflicts, coping behavior, satisfaction, and happiness in a sample of 229 college-educated women. The woman's perception of the male's stereotype of femininity was the best predictor of various types of conflicts experienced. The woman's style of coping with conflict was a function of her self-image. Self-image was also associated with satisfaction and happiness. The effect of male stereotypes on women's conflicts is discussed in terms of current social definitions of women's roles. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The influence of emotional dissonance and resources at work on job burnout among Chinese human service employees.

The authors extended Hobfoll's Conservation of Resources (COR) model to examine the influence of emotional dissonance and work resources on burnout among 392 Chinese human service employees. Bivariate correlation results showed that emotional dissonance correlated positively with display rules and burnout, but negatively with work resources, specifically, satisfactory work relations and job rewards. Results of structural equation modeling analyses supported the extension of the COR model to study the dissonance-resources-burnout association. In the revised model, display rules had a direct impact on emotional dissonance, which in turn influenced burnout indirectly through the mediation of work resources. Limitations of the study and implications for work stress management are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The role of creative thinking in resilience after hurricane Katrina.

This study hypothesized that creative thinking can help predict the process of resilience, manifested as subjective well-being despite exposure to adversity, either directly or with moderation of personality and demographic variables. Eighty survivors of hurricane Katrina who have lost their homes were asked to respond to measures of creative thinking, perception of adversity, well-being, a short personality inventory, and a demographic questionnaire. Supplementary qualitative exploration of 17 participants’ experiences augmented understanding within contextual framework. Findings suggest that originality and flexibility are significant predictors of well-being when personality traits and demographic variables are taken into account. Specifically, originality was found to be a significant predictor for extroversion, which was a significant predictor of life satisfaction measure. In addition, flexibility and originality were significant predictors of clinical stress and life satisfaction for the African American participants but not for the European American participants; originality and flexibility were also significant predictors of resilience for participants reporting greater income disparity. Triangulation of interviews with these findings further supports the notion that manifestations of creative thinking as resilience are likely moderated by SES, culture and social structure, and might be masked under condition of social privilege and prevalence of resources. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The phylogenetic roots of cognitive dissonance.

We presented 7 Old World monkeys (Japanese macaques [Macaca fuscata], gray-cheeked mangabey [Lophocebus albigena], rhesus macaques [Macaca mulatta], bonnet macaque [Macaca radiate], and olive baboon [Papio anubis]), 3 chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), 6 members of the parrot (Psittacinae) family, and 4 American black bears (Ursus americanus) with a cognitive dissonance paradigm modeled after Egan, Santos, and Bloom (2007). In experimental trials, subjects were given choices between 2 equally preferred food items and then presented with the unchosen option and a novel, equally preferred food item. In control trials, subjects were presented with 1 accessible and 1 inaccessible option from another triad of equally preferred food items. They were then presented with the previously inaccessible item and a novel member of that triad. Subjects, as a whole, did not prefer the novel item in experimental or control trials. However, there was a tendency toward a subject by condition interaction. When analyzed by primate versus nonprimate categories, only primates preferred the novel item in experimental but not control trials, indicating that they resolved cognitive dissonance by devaluing the unchosen option only when an option was derogated by their own free choice. This finding suggests that this phenomenon might exist within but not outside of the primate order. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Youth gambling behaviors: An examination of the role of resilience.

The study of resilient children has overturned many deficit-focused models concerning the ontogenesis of children raised in adversity. This study explored the relationship between risk and protective factors, resilience, and youth gambling behavior. More specifically, this study examined the relative contribution of various risk and protective domains in relation to problem gambling behavior and examined whether youth identified as resilient (high risk exposure- high internalized protection) were as likely as those identified as vulnerable (high risk exposure-low internalized protection) to engage in excessive gambling behavior. The sample consisted of 1,273 students ages 12 to 19. The findings demonstrated that risk and protective factors each provide a unique contribution to the prediction model of gambling problems. Resilient and vulnerable youth differed significantly in their self-reported gambling severity. As well, resilient youth were not statistically distinguishable from low-risk exposure groups in terms of their gambling severity. Findings are interpreted with respect to resilience and prevention research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Risk and resilience in military families experiencing deployment: The role of the family attachment network.

Deployment separation constitutes a significant stressor for U.S. military men and women and their families. Many military personnel return home struggling with physical and/or psychological injuries that challenge their ability to reintegrate and contribute to marital problems, family dysfunction, and emotional or behavioral disturbance in spouses and children. Yet research examining the psychological health and functioning of military families is scarce and rarely driven by developmental theory. The primary purpose of this theoretical paper is to describe a family attachment network model of military families during deployment and reintegration that is grounded in attachment theory and family systems theory. This integrative perspective provides a solid empirical foundation and a comprehensive account of individual and family risk and resilience during military-related separations and reunions. The proposed family attachment network model will inform future research and intervention efforts with service members and their families. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognitive dissonance and energy conservation.

Examined whether high consumers of electricity placed in a cognitively dissonant situation would conserve electricity over a 4-wk period. 272 households in Perth, Western Australia, owning ducted air conditioning and consuming above-average amounts of electricity were included in the study. Four experimental groups were compared. The 4 groups were as follows: (a) the dissonance plus tips plus feedback group, who were informed of an inconsistency between their previously measured attitudes toward conservation and actual high consumption of electricity; (b) the feedback plus tips group, who were notified that they were high consumers of electricity; (c) the tips-only group, who were sent information on ways to conserve electricity (also sent to Groups 1 and 2); and (d) the control group, who were sent a thank-you letter for participating in the study. It was found, in keeping with bolstering behavior predictions of cognitive dissonance theory, that the dissonance group conserved more electricity than all other groups in the 1st 2-wk measurement period. For the 2nd 2-wk measurement period, the dissonance group differed only from the control group. Self-reported behavior change and number of requests for additional conservation materials were not reliable indicators of actual conservation behavior. (14 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The moderating role of cognitive control deficits in the link from emotional dissonance to burnout symptoms and absenteeism.

The present study examines whether cognitive control deficits (CCDs) as a personal vulnerability factor amplify the relationship between emotional dissonance (ED; perceived discrepancy between felt and expressed emotions) and burnout symptoms (emotional exhaustion and depersonalization) as well as absenteeism. CCDs refer to daily failures and impairments of attention regulation, impulse control, and memory. The prediction of the moderator effect of CCDs draws on the argument that portraying emotions which are not genuinely felt is a form of self-regulation taxing and depleting a limited resource capacity. Interindividual differences in the resource capacity are reflected by the measure of CCDs. Drawing on two German samples (one cross-sectional and one longitudinal sample; NTOTAL = 645) of service employees, the present study analyzed interactive effects of ED and CCDs on exhaustion, depersonalization, and two indicators of absenteeism. As was hypothesized, latent moderated structural equation modeling revealed that the adverse impacts of ED on both burnout symptoms and absence behavior were amplified as a function of CCDs. Theoretical and practical implications of the present results will be discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Trivialization: the forgotten mode of dissonance reduction.

Trivialization as a mode of dissonance reduction and the conditions under which it is likely to occur were explored in 4 studies. Study 1 tested and supported the hypothesis that when the preexisting attitude is made salient, participants will trivialize the dissonant cognitions rather than change their attitudes. Study 2 tested and supported the hypothesis that following a counterattitudinal behavior, participants will choose the first mode of dissonance reduction provided for them, whether it is trivialization or attitude change. Study 3 tested and supported the hypothesis that following a counterattitudinal behavior, the typical self-affirmation treatment leads to trivialization. Study 4 demonstrated that providing a trivializing frame by making an important issue salient also encourages trivialization rather than attitude change even when there was no opportunity for self-affirmation. The implications for cognitive dissonance theory and research are briefly discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognitive reactions to smoking relapse: The reciprocal relation between dissonance and self-esteem.

Perceptions of health risk associated with smoking, commitment to quitting, and self-concept were assessed among 174 smokers (mean age 42 yrs) before, during, and after their participation in cessation clinics. Consistent with expectations derived from cognitive dissonance theory, results indicated that relapsers' perception of risk declined after they resumed smoking, although the decline was significant only for relapsers with high self-esteem; high self-esteem relapsers experienced a significantly greater decline in commitment to quitting than did low self-esteem relapsers; and decline in risk perception among relapsers was associated with maintenance of self-esteem. The implications of these results for dissonance theory and the study of smoking relapse and cessation are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On the cultural guises of cognitive dissonance: The case of Easterners and Westerners.

Cognitive dissonance and effects of self-affirmation on dissonance arousal were examined cross-culturally. In Studies 1 and 2, European Canadians justified their choices more when they made them for themselves, whereas Asian Canadians (Study 1) or Japanese (Study 2) justified their choices more when they made them for a friend. In Study 3, an interdependent self-affirmation reduced dissonance for Asian Canadians but not for European Canadians. In Study 4, when Asian Canadians made choices for a friend, an independent self-affirmation reduced dissonance for bicultural Asian Canadians but not for monocultural Asian Canadians. These studies demonstrate that both Easterners and Westerners can experience dissonance, but culture shapes the situations in which dissonance is aroused and reduced. Implications of these cultural differences for theories of cognitive dissonance and self-affirmation are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Simulated organizational choice: Postdecision dissonance reduction and self-perception.

Tested the subsequent effect of choice between 2 equally attractive organizations on changes in their overall attractiveness and in the attractiveness of their instrumentality for the attainment of job goals (motivators and hygienes). Exp. I tested predictions from dissonance theory with 34 adult male students. Mean attractiveness of the chosen organizations increased and that of the unchosen organizations decreased significantly from before to after choice. Motivators, as compared with hygienes, significantly increased in attractiveness for the chosen organizations. Results make the motivation-hygiene taxonomy untenable in terms of its instrumentality for postdecisional accommodation to organizational choice. Exp. II enlisted an additional 74 Ss and controls to test the self-perception model as an alternative interpretation of dissonance phenomena. Results parallel dissonance predictions for changes in attractiveness of the chosen but not the unchosen organization. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Factors affecting the evaluation of improvement: The role of normative standards and allocator resources.

In a simulated industrial setting, 108 undergraduates performed a clerical task while believing that their pay was being determined by a (fictitious) peer allocator. After being treated inequitably, Ss were able to request a (fictitious) 3rd party to review these allocations. The 3rd party established 1 of 2 "normative" standards to govern a 2nd series of allocations: either "fairness from now on" or "fairness now, plus compensation for the initial discrimination." Ss subsequently received increased outcomes that matched one or the other of these standards. Concurrently, the resources available to the allocator either remained constant, increased, or decreased. Results indicate dissatisfaction despite the improvement in outcome level when the increase was felt to be inadequate relative to a normative standard and to the "social" standard formed by the allocator's own outcomes. Related hypotheses based on a relative deprivation interpretation of discontent with improvement are presented. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Misattribution of dissonance and behaviour-consistent attitude change.

Examined the prediction that people who have misattributed dissonance arousal to an external source may come to question the appropriateness of this attribution and may then be motivated to alter their attitudes. This was tested by having an experimenter discredit the plausibility of an external source after misattribution had presumably occurred. 80 female undergraduates participated in the study, with 16 of these Ss serving as controls. 64 Ss were given a pill described as having either unpleasant side effects or no side effects and then were committed to write counterattitudinal essays under high-choice conditions. Some Ss were then told that a mistake had been made and that they had actually been given the other form of the pill. As predicted, Ss who had initially been led to believe that the pill had aversive side effects but were later told that it did not manifested behavior-consistent attitude change. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The role of personal resources in the job demands-resources model.

This study examined the role of three personal resources (self-efficacy, organizational-based self-esteem, and optimism) in the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model. The authors hypothesized that personal resources (1) moderate the relationship between job demands and exhaustion, (2) mediate the relationship between job resources and work engagement, and (3) relate to how employees perceive their work environment and well-being. Hypotheses were tested among 714 Dutch employees. Results showed that personal resources did not offset the relationship between job demands and exhaustion. Instead, personal resources mediated the relationship between job resources and engagement/exhaustion and influenced the perception of job resources. The implications of these findings for the JD-R model are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Human resources management and firm performance: The differential role of managerial affective and continuance commitment.

In this study, the authors developed a dual-concern (i.e., maintenance and performance) model of human resources (HR) management. The authors identified commonly examined HR practices that apply to the middle manager level and classified them into the maintenance- and performance-oriented HR subsystems. The authors found support for the 2-factor model on the basis of responses from 2,148 managers from 463 firms operating in China. Regression results indicate that the performance-oriented HR subsystems had a positive relationship with firm performance and that the relationship was mediated by middle managers' affective commitment to the firm. The maintenance-oriented HR subsystems had a positive relationship with middle managers' continuance commitment but not with their affective commitment and firm performance. This study contributes to the understanding of how HR practices relate to firm performance and offers an improved test of the argument that valuable and firm-specific HR provide a source of competitive advantage. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

In defense of dissonance theory: Reply to Chapanis and Chapanis.

This paper evaluates the critical review of the dissonance literature by Chapanis and Chapanis (1964) and concludes that these authors, for the most part, do not accomplish what they purport to, i.e, the presentation of alternative explanations of the findings they deal with. The "methodological inadequacies" discussed by the Chapanises are viewed as acceptable procedures and necessary components of the inductive process. An alternative explanation for the popularity of dissonance theory is offered and the current status of the model is reconsidered. (20 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognitive dissonance, sensitivity, and evaluation.

In a test of dissonance theory the sensitivity of regular smokers to information about smoking and lung cancer was compared to nonsmokers. Smokers were more interested in such information than nonsmokers; but they did not seek out negative evidence about lung cancer and smoking, nor did they reject information about the harmful effects more than nonsmokers. No clear-cut results emerge from the analysis of dissonance reduction in relation to extraversion and neuroticism, though regular smokers were higher in extraversion than nonsmokers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)