Comparison of Cognitive Dissonance Theories

The enquiry:

I need assistance with critically analyzing and making a determination about who makes a stronger argument (festinger and carlsmith or bem) about the impact of cognitive dissonance.

• Why the argument is stronger or why the other argument is weaker
• What implications it has for the cognitive dissonance literature
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  Solution Preview

Daryl Bem was one of Festinger and Carlsmith’s primary critics when it came to the cognitive dissonance theory. He presented a theory in response as the alternative notion of the self-perception theory.

On the surface, these two theories aim to make similar predictions and even observations, but with a few important differences, such as the cognitive dissonance theory also predicting unpleasant psychological burden from the dissonance. Furthermore, the key difference arises in explaining the approach to analysing attitude and behaviour between the two models. Whereas cognitive dissonance theory often confers with the conventional wisdom of attitudes preceding and thus, inducing behaviour, the self-perception theory sees attitudes as an individual’s explanation of their own observed behaviour; that is, behaviour comes first while the attitude is a resulting induction. This is argued on the fundamental …