Cognitive Dissonance And Social Psychology

One of the most interesting subjects that depicts many explanations about human behavior is psychology. Every human being tends to have a distinct behavior, depending on the situation that he or she was exposed to. The presence of other human beings cause the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors of the person to be controlled or influenced. There are a considerable amount of factors in which the actions of human beings around them are responsible for the process of making their decisions. Therefore, finding an explanation through psychology, for the different specific reactions that human beings exhibit is important. Social psychology is an important sector of psychology that takes interpersonal relationships into consideration. Over the years, …show more content…
Cognitive dissonance theory attempts to explain the human behavior through cognition, in which individuals always look for stability in their attitudes and behaviors (Festinger, 1957). In which if this stability was disrupted then changes to their actions must occur in order for the dissonance created from their behaviors or attitudes to be restored. The uncomfortable feelings produced as a result of dissonance causes alteration in the person’s beliefs which aid in the relief of uncomfortable feelings created (Girandola, 2010). Outlined in this assignment two personal experiences that relates to cognitive dissonance theory. I am a person who cares about others, helping them to achieve solutions to their problems, especially when they are not able to help themselves. I am categorized as a benevolent individual that is buried deep inside me that I unconditionally help anyone without hesitation when I am asked for help. One day this semester, my roommate whom …show more content…
I am usually a very polite person that believes in reciprocal treatment, in which I treat people the same exact way that I want to be treated by others. I had a very rough week full of presentations and assignments, in which I was exhausted by the end of the week, then I get a call from my mom, informing me that one of my relatives passed away that day. I then started acting in opposition to what I would normally respond to others because of the anxiety and stress I was at that day, in which I was responding to others in a rude and emotionally ignorant fashion while in some of the times I would be responding aggressively as well. It can be thought as a mean of releasing stress, but what I then realized that these people were going through their own stresses that might have been greater than the stress I was going through. Afterwards, I went out and re-evaluated the situations and replies, in which I came into a decision that my responses were wrong towards these people. Therefore, I came into the conclusion that I should be treating everyone nicely regardless of the way I was feeling that day and the person I was replying to. Thus, making a required step that transformed my views and concede appreciation for