The Need to Justify Our Actions The Costs and Benefits of Dissonance Reduction

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The Need to Justify Our Actions 

The Costs and Benefits of Dissonance Reduction

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FOCUS QUESTIONS

3

I

t

 

was

 

shocking

 

news

: 39 

people

 

were

 

found

 

dead

 

at

 

a

 

luxury

 

estate

 

in

 

r

ancho

 s

anta

 f

e

, c

alifornia

, 

participants

 

in

 

a

 

mass

 

suicide

. All were 

members of an obscure cult called Heaven’s Gate. Each body was laid out 

neatly, feet clad in brand-new black Nikes, face covered with a purple shroud. 

The cult members died willingly and peacefully, leaving behind videotapes de-

scribing their reasons for suicide: They believed that the Hale-Bopp Comet, a 

recently discovered comet streaking across the night skies, was their ticket to 

a new life in paradise. They were convinced that in Hale-Bopp’s wake was a 

gigantic spaceship whose mission was to carry them off to a new incarnation. 

To be picked up by the spaceship, they first needed to rid themselves of their 

current “containers.” That is, they needed to leave their own bodies by end-

ing their lives. Alas, no spaceship ever came.

Several  weeks  before  the  mass  suicide,  some  members  of  the  cult  pur-

chased an expensive, high-powered telescope. They wanted to get a clearer 

view of the comet and the spaceship that they believed was traveling behind 

it. A few days later, they returned the telescope and politely asked for their 

money back. When the store manager asked them if they had problems with 

the scope, they replied, “Well, gosh, we found the comet, but we can’t find 

anything  following  it”  (Ferris,  1997).  Although  the  store  manager  tried  to 

convince  them  that  there  was  nothing  wrong  with  the  telescope  and  that 

nothing was following the comet, they remained unconvinced. Given their 

premise, their logic was impeccable: We know an alien spaceship is following 

behind the Hale-Bopp Comet. If an expensive telescope has failed to reveal 

that spaceship, then there is something wrong with the telescope.

Their thinking might strike you as strange, irrational, or stupid, but, gen-

erally speaking, the members of the Heaven’s Gate cult were none of those 

things. Neighbors who knew them considered them pleasant, smart, and rea-

sonable. What is the process by which intelligent, sane people can succumb 

to such fantastic thinking and self-destructive behavior? We will attempt to 

explain their actions at the end of this chapter. For now, we will simply state 

that their behavior is not unfathomable. It is simply an extreme example of a 

normal human tendency: the need to justify our actions and commitments.

The Theory of Cognitive Dissonance

During the past half-century, social psychologists have discovered that one 

of the most powerful determinants of human behavior stems from our need 

to preserve a stable, positive self-image (Aronson, 1969, 1998). Most people 

believe they are above average—more ethical and competent, better drivers, 

better leaders, better judges of character, and more attractive than the major-

ity (Fine, 2008; Gilovich, 1991). But if most of us see ourselves as reasonable, 

moral, and smart, what happens when we are confronted with information 

implying that we have behaved in ways that are unreasonable, immoral, or 

stupid? That is the subject of this chapter.

 ■

What is the theory of cognitive 

dissonance, and how do people 

avoid dissonance to maintain a 

stable, positive self-image?

 ■

How is the justification of 

effort a product of cognitive 

dissonance, and what are 

some practical applications for 

reducing dissonance?

 ■

How can people avoid the traps 

of self-justification and other 

dissonance-reducing behavior?

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CHApTer 6

 

The Need to Justify Our Actions 

Maintaining a positive Self-Image

The feeling of discomfort caused by performing an action that is discrepant from one’s 

self-concept is called cognitive dissonance. Leon Festinger (1957) was the first to in-

vestigate the precise workings of this phenomenon and elaborated his findings in what 

is arguably social psychology’s most important and most provocative theory.

Cognitive dissonance always produces discomfort, and in response we try to reduce 

it. The process is similar to the effects of hunger and thirst: Discomfort motivates us 

to eat or drink. But unlike satisfying hunger or thirst by eating or drinking, the path 

to reducing dissonance is not always simple or obvious. In fact, it can lead to fascinat-

ing changes in the way we think about the world and the way we behave. How can we 

reduce dissonance? There are three basic ways (see Figure 6.1):

  •  By changing our behavior to bring it in line with the dissonant cognition.

  •  By  attempting  to  justify  our  behavior  through  changing  one  of  the  dissonant 

cognitions.

  •  By attempting to justify our behavior by adding new cognitions.

To illustrate each of these, let’s look at something that millions of people do several 

times a day: smoke cigarettes. If you are a smoker, you are likely to experience dis-

sonance because you know that this behavior significantly increases the risks of lung 

cancer, emphysema, and earlier death. How can you reduce this dissonance? The most 

direct way is to change your behavior and give up smoking. Your behavior would then 

be consistent with your knowledge of the link between smoking and cancer. Although 

many people have succeeded in quitting, it’s not easy; many have tried and failed. What 

do these people do? It would be wrong to assume that they simply swallow hard, light 

up, and prepare to die. They don’t. Researchers studied the behavior and attitudes of 

heavy smokers who attended a smoking cessation clinic but then relapsed into heavy 

smoking again. What do you suppose the researchers discovered? Heavy smokers who 

Cognitive Dissonance

A drive or feeling of discomfort, 

originally defined as being caused 

by holding two or more inconsis-

tent cognitions and subsequently 

defined as being caused by per-

forming an action that is discrep-

ant from one’s customary, typically 

positive self-conception.

Figure 6.1

How We reduce Cognitive Dissonance

There are three basic ways of reducing dissonance: change your behavior, change your cogni-

tion, or add a new cognition.

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