Cognitive Dissonance is a theory of attitude change

Yes? The world ends on the 21 st December, thank you for letting me

• The members of the cult gave up their jobs and sold their

They believed they would be picked up by a flying saucer before the world

Woo Hoo! We saved the world with our faith! • When midnight came on

Hmm, the flying saucer never showed up, the world did not end, but I’m

Cognitive Dissonance means that there are 2 conflicting thoughts in the brain which cause

Mrs Keech said the world will end + The world did not end =

When we experience cognitive dissonance we do one of three things to stop the

Here’s what the followers would think in each of the 3 situations 1. Denial

2. Add Information Mrs Keech said the world will end The world did not

3. Attitude Change Mrs Keech said the world will end Mrs Keech lied to

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Cognitive Dissonance is a theory of attitude change by Leon Festinger. (1957) He put forward theory after observing a cult. (A cult is a group of people led by one person or a small group. The leader tells the cult members what to believe and how to live. )

Yes? The world ends on the 21 st December, thank you for letting me know. • Festinger observed the Doomsday Cult led by a housewife called Mrs Marion Keech in 1956. • Marion Keech claimed that aliens from the planet Clarion revealed to her that the world would end in a great flood on December 21 st 1956.

• The members of the cult gave up their jobs and sold their houses to be part of the cult. • They invested a lot of time, money and effort into their beliefs

They believed they would be picked up by a flying saucer before the world was destroyed.

Woo Hoo! We saved the world with our faith! • When midnight came on the 21 st December the flying saucer did not turn up and the believers were stunned, but they did not doubt Mrs Keech. • At 4 am Marion Keech received a message from the aliens to say that the believers of the cult had saved the world because they had such great faith.

Hmm, the flying saucer never showed up, the world did not end, but I’m sure Mrs Keech was right all along! • Why do you think the believers did not doubt Mrs Keech even when the flying saucer did not turn up? • The believers were experiencing something called Cognitive Dissonance.

Cognitive Dissonance means that there are 2 conflicting thoughts in the brain which cause us to feel uncomfortable.

Mrs Keech said the world will end + The world did not end = cognitive dissonance

When we experience cognitive dissonance we do one of three things to stop the dissonance in our thoughts: 1. Go into denial. This is where we refuse to accept that the obvious is true. 2. Add information. This is where we add some information to one of the two conflicting statements so that they are not conflicting anymore. 3. Have an Attitude Change. This is where we change our opinion. This is the hardest thing to do because we hold our opinion and attitude to something for a reason.

Here’s what the followers would think in each of the 3 situations 1. Denial Mrs Keech said the world will end The world did end. The flying saucer did show up = no cognitive dissonance Because these two thoughts are not conflicting. The person believes that the world did end and so Mrs Keech was right.

2. Add Information Mrs Keech said the world will end The world did not end because we saved it with our faith = no cognitive dissonance Because these two thoughts are not conflicting. No the world did not end, but the believers added information that it was because of their faith.

3. Attitude Change Mrs Keech said the world will end Mrs Keech lied to us! I have been fooled. I am leaving the cult! = no cognitive dissonance Because these two thoughts are not conflicting. The person has realised the truth and changed their attitude towards Mrs Keech. Attitude change is the hardest of the three options for us to do. Why?