Application of Cognitive Dissonance Theory and Attribution Theory to Improve Learning

Cognitive Dissonance Theory and Attribution Theory
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Cognitive Dissonance Theory
Leon Festinger pioneered cognitive dissonance in the 1950s. He theorized that individuals experience cognitive dissonance in decision-making as they attempt to create internal psychological consistency. The distress arises when the individual experiences contradicting cognitions and is motivated to reduce the dissonance (Festinger, 1957). He claimed that distress (dissonance) stems from two actions or ideas that are inconsistent with each other. Individuals try to make them consistent, to be more comfortable.
This is one of the most influential and extensively studied theories in social psychology (Kaaronen, 2018). Thus, the theory has evolved and been scientifically criticized over the years, leading to new knowledge frontiers. One of the recent developments in this theory is by looking at the road to dissonance. In the new approach, Cooper (2019) posits that ‘the road to dissonance begins with the perception that we have brought about a consequence that is aversive.’ He defines this as ‘behavior that leads to a consequence that we would rather not have brought about. It is considered aversive and leads to the possibility of dissonance arousal’ (Cooper, 2019). This new approach to looking into dissonance through the process that leads to aversive behavior shows inconsistent representation and often produces unwanted consequences but not always. Therefore, this broadens the definition of dissonance to encompass the prior course of action that leads to the unwanted consequences irrespective of whether the behavior or cognition was consistent with the attitude.
Social Attribution Theory
This theory is concerned with how individuals attempt to explain behavior or events. Individuals tend to see the cause-and-effect relationships in every event and behavior and theorize the internal (dispositional) or external (situational) cause(s) that can explain it. Internal dispositions attribute the action or behavior to the individual’s personality traits. Situational causes attribute the cause of the action and or behavior to the environment or something beyond the control of the individual.
Since Heider pioneered this theory in the 1950s, other scholars have critically evaluated and developed it. Kelley’s Covariation Model, which was pioneered by Kelly in 1967, gives a framework for judging whether an action or behavior is dispositional or situational. He came up with three factors; consensus, distinctiveness, and consistency. One of this theory’s recent developments and highly researched areas is the fundamental attribution error 1033 (Healy, 2017). This is when an individual over-emphasizes the dispositional causes of behavior or action over situational factors (Kelley, 1967). It is a cognitive bias that attributes freely chosen behaviors to disposition. It is a widely researched area and has many off-shoot theories founded in the classical social attribution theory. Some include correspondence bias, actor-observer bias, self-serving bias, group-serving biases, and victim-blaming biases (Jhangiani & Tarry, 2015). These theories continue to be developed and criticized by scholars in their own capacity. They continue to expand the field bringing new theories and information into light about attribution.
Cognitive Dissonance and Learning
The overarching theme in cognitive dissonance theory is that the cognitive process often leads to dissonance, and there are ways of addressing them. Using cognitive dissonance, teachers can help their students acquire new information and help them process it to ensure it becomes meaningful, and therefore, no dissonance thereof (Bramschreiber, 2013). What students have previously learned may be confusing with new information that may prove difficult to comprehend. Teachers have to guide students through this process to ensure they understand, reduce the dissonance, and learn something new. Some students may choose not to engage with the new information or ask questions hence ignoring the dissonance. Teachers have to encourage the students to ask questions and let them wrestle with the new information until they reduce the dissonance. There are some lessons and instances where the student has prior knowledge of the subject that could be inconsistent with new information the instructor wants to put across. For example, changing a small child’s mindset to understand that the sun is a star and the earth revolves around it may seem counter-intuitive. They see the sun in the day and stars only in the night all their lives. Secondly, the sun is very big compared to the stars, which seem to emit very little light. Such counter-intuitive information creates dissonance in the students’ minds, and only through active engagement and finding ways to explain the concept clearly that students can understand. Therefore, teachers ought to allow students to engage with new information and search for more information to resolve it and learn. (Bramschreiber, 2013) Therefore, controlled dissonance and proper channels of reducing it through teacher guidance in education are important parts of learning. It prompts students to wrestle with new information and search for ways of reducing dissonance in the environment, books, asking questions, etc. This increases teacher-student engagement, prompts students to do more research, and eventually leads to the acquisition of new knowledge.
Social Attribution and Learning
Social attribution theory is useful in the education setting, especially in understanding the behavior and discipline of students or lack of it thereof. The theory also helps teachers understand ways to engage, m...