watch videos https://youtu.be/zuUPW86Nxo4 & https://youtu.be/korGK0yGIDo
http://psychology.about.com/od/cognitivepsychology/f/dissonance.htmLinks to an external site.
Under certain conditions, inconsistency between attitudes and behavior produces an unpleasant psychological state called cognitive dissonance. Carkenord and Bullington (1993) suggest a simple exercise to help understand the phenomenon of cognitive dissonance by experiencing it firsthand. In this exercise, cognitive dissonance is induced by comparing attitudes and behaviors on a variety of issues.
First, conduct this exercise on cognitive dissonance on another person.
1) Draw a five-point Likert scale ranging from (1) strongly disagree to (5) strongly agree.
2) Ask your person to take out a blank piece of paper and indicate the extent to which they agree or disagree with a series of statements that you will read aloud (by writing a number from 1 to 5 corresponding to the scale):
Series of Statements:
No one in this country should go to bed hungry.
Climate change is a serious problem that needs our immediate attention.
Everyone in a democracy should exercise his or her right to vote.
Water is one of our most precious resources, and everyone should try to conserve it.
3) Ask this person to turn their paper over and answer the next series of questions by responding “Yes” or “No” according to whether they “perform the behavior on a regular basis.” This series of behavioral questions correspond to the previous attitudinal statements:
Do you personally do anything to help those who are hungry (e.g., donate money or food or work in a soup kitchen)?
Do you personally do anything to lessen the factors that contribute to global warming (e.g., use electricity only when necessary, keep air conditioners on low setting, or use public transportation)?
Did you vote in the last election for which you were eligible?
Do you conserve water (e.g., by taking short showers, not letting the water run when you brush your teeth, or refrain from using a hose to wash a car)?
4) After you have completed giving their responses, have them turn back to side 1 and ask of they agreed or strongly agreed with the first attitudinal statement.
5) Ask them to turn their paper over and ask if they answered “Yes” to the corresponding behavioral question.
Repeat for all four statements.
*In most cases, a majority will agree with the statements, but only a small minority will follow through with the corresponding behavior.
6) Discuss the following:
Analyze and describe the results
Elaborate on how these inconsistencies made this person feel
Describe strategies for reducing dissonance.