According to these theories, people are motivated to seek coherent
attitudes, thoughts, beliefs, values and feelings. If these are inconsistent, these will produce a tension state in the individual, and motivate the individual to reduce this tension by making their relevant cognitions consistent.
Balance Theory by Fritz Heider
Concerned with an individuals perception of the
relationships between himself and other two elements in a triadic structure. P-O-X theory where P: person, O: comparison person, X: object A balanced triad occurs when all relationships are positive, or balanced, or consistent Balance, according to Heider is rewarding but imbalance can also be rewarding and exciting. Heider: The tension produced by unbalanced situations often has pleasing effect on our thinking and aesthetic feelings. 3 ways to restore balance: 1. Change ones attitude toward either the object or the other person. 2. Distort reality to perceive that the relationship is balanced. 3. Cognitively differentiate the relationship
Limitations of Balanced Theory:
Makes no prediction about how imbalance will be resolved
Cannot predict which thoughts or cognitions to change Does not recognize degree of liking
Congruity Theory by Charles Osgood and Percy Tannenbaum
P: audience, O: message source, X: object/concept
Quantified the degree of liking for the source Congruity exists when a person holds identical attitudes toward a source, topic or issue. Proposes a formula that predicts the amount and direction of attitude change based on the audiences attitude toward the Source and the audiences attitude toward the Concept. Semantic differential scale: Seven-unit evaluative scale, from extremely negative (-3) to neutral (0) to extremely positive (+3) Attitudes tend to lie at extremes of good-bad dimension Assertion: attitude towards another object or concept 2 Post Hoc Hypotheses: 1. Assertion Constant: when a source makes an assertion about a concept, that assertion tells us more about the concept than about the source 2. Incredulity: When a source was made to same something unreasonable, attitude change predicted by the Congruity Theory did not occur
Limitations of Congruity Theory:
Ignores message content
Does not predict that attitudes toward the source would change less than predicted.
Cognitive Dissonance Theory by Leon Festinger
Three possible relationships among cognitions: consonance, dissonance,
and irrelevance. Declares that dissonance is an unpleasant motivating state that encourages attitude change to achieve or restore consonance. When there is an inconsistency between attitudes or behaviors (dissonance), something must change to eliminate the dissonance. Two factors that affect the strength of dissonance: 1. Proportion of dissonant and consonant cognitions 2. Importance of the cognitions. Considers all of the relevant thoughts at once, considering both the proportion of consistent (consonant) and inconsistent (dissonant) thoughts and the importance of those thoughts. Three ways to eliminate dissonance: 1. One may change cognition to reduce dissonance. 2. A person who experiences dissonance can add a new cognition 3. Change the importance of cognitions.
Limitations of Cognitive Dissonance Theory
Does not predict how dissonance will be reduced in any situation.
Does not consider the nature of the persuasive message.