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Cognitive Dissonance
Comm Theory - Cognitive Dissonance Theory
Term | Definition |
---|---|
Cognitive Dissonance | The distressing mental state caused by inconsistency between a person's two beliefs or a belief and an action. |
Selective Exposure | The tendency people have to avoid information that would create cognitive dissonance because it's incompatible with their current beliefs. |
Postdecision Dissonance | Strong doubts experienced after making an important, close-call decision that is difficult to reverse. |
Minimal Justification Hypothesis | A claim that the best way to stimulate an attitude change in others is to offer just enough incentive to elicit counterattitudinal behavior. |
Compliance | Public conformity to another's expectation without necessarily having a private conviction that matches the behavior. |
Counterattitudinal Advocacy | Publicly urging others to believe or do something that is opposed to what the advocate actually believes. |
Dissonance Thermometer | A hypothetical, reliable gauge of the dissonance a person feels as a result of inconsistency. |
Self-Perception Theory | The claim that we determine our attitudes the same way outside observers do - by observing our behavior; an alternative to cognitive dissonance theory. |