Cognitive dissonance in groups: the consequences of disagreement

As L. Festinger (1957) argued, the social group is a source of cognitive dissonance as well as a vehicle for reducing it. That is, disagreement from others in a group generates dissonance, and subsequent movement toward group consensus reduces this negative tension. The authors conducted 3 studies t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of personality and social psychology Vol. 88; no. 1; p. 22
Main Authors Matz, David C, Wood, Wendy
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 01.01.2005
Subjects
Analysis of Variance
Attitude
Cognitive Dissonance
Dissent and Disputes
Emotions - physiology
Female
Humans
Interpersonal Relations
Male
Peer Group
Persuasive Communication
Students - psychology
Surveys and Questionnaires
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Summary:As L. Festinger (1957) argued, the social group is a source of cognitive dissonance as well as a vehicle for reducing it. That is, disagreement from others in a group generates dissonance, and subsequent movement toward group consensus reduces this negative tension. The authors conducted 3 studies to demonstrate group-induced dissonance. In the first, students in a group with others who ostensibly disagreed with them experienced greater dissonance discomfort than those in a group with others who agreed. Study 2 demonstrated that standard moderators of dissonance in past research--lack of choice and opportunity to self-affirm, similarly reduced dissonance discomfort generated by group disagreement. In Study 3, the dissonance induced by group disagreement was reduced through a variety of interpersonal strategies to achieve consensus, including persuading others, changing one's own position, and joining an attitudinally congenial group.
ISSN:0022-3514
DOI:10.1037/0022-3514.88.1.22