Lisa believes that drinking alcohol is wrong. However, her boyfriend, Mike, likes to drink beer after work. Instead of breaking up with Mike, she decides that drinking alcohol is not so bad after all. Lisa’s attitude most likely changed because of
a. the fundamental attribution error.
b. post-decisional attributes.
c. the actor/observer bias.
d. cognitive dissonance.
The Correct Answer and Explanation is:
The correct answer is d. cognitive dissonance.
Explanation:
Cognitive dissonance is a psychological theory developed by Leon Festinger in 1957. It describes the mental discomfort or tension that arises when a person holds two or more contradictory beliefs, attitudes, or behaviors simultaneously. People are motivated to reduce this discomfort by changing their attitudes, beliefs, or behaviors, or by rationalizing the inconsistency.
In Lisa’s case, she originally believes that drinking alcohol is wrong. This is one attitude or belief she holds firmly. However, her boyfriend, Mike, enjoys drinking beer after work, which contradicts her belief. Instead of breaking up with Mike to resolve this contradiction, Lisa changes her attitude about drinking alcohol—she now thinks drinking is “not so bad.” This attitude change reduces the mental discomfort caused by the inconsistency between her original belief and her boyfriend’s behavior. Lisa’s behavior (continuing her relationship with Mike despite her beliefs) conflicts with her attitude (disliking alcohol), so she changes her attitude to align better with her behavior, which reduces cognitive dissonance.
Why the other options are incorrect:
- a. Fundamental attribution error refers to the tendency to attribute others’ behaviors to their personality or disposition rather than to external factors. This does not explain Lisa’s attitude change, which is about reconciling her own conflicting beliefs and behavior.
- b. Post-decisional attributes (more commonly called post-decisional dissonance) refers to the cognitive dissonance that occurs after making a decision, where a person enhances the attractiveness of the chosen option and devalues the rejected options. While similar, it doesn’t exactly fit Lisa’s case because her attitude change isn’t about enhancing a choice she already made but rather resolving conflict between her attitude and ongoing behavior (relationship with Mike).
- c. Actor/observer bias is the tendency to attribute one’s own behavior to situational factors but others’ behavior to personality traits. This concept relates to how we explain behavior, not attitude changes to resolve internal conflict.
Summary:
Lisa’s change in attitude about drinking alcohol illustrates cognitive dissonance because she alters her belief to reduce the psychological discomfort created by the contradiction between her dislike of alcohol and her desire to maintain her relationship with Mike, who drinks beer. This is a classic example of how cognitive dissonance theory explains attitude change in the presence of conflicting behaviors or beliefs.