To change the attitude towards chewing tobacco in an individual who is abusing the substance, by using cognitive dissonance the following steps should be followed
A. Identifying the cognition to be changed
B. Establishing the correct cognition that is understanding tobacco causes oral cancer.
C. Resulting in cognitive consistency
D. Adopting the correct attitude that is, I will not chew tobacco
E. Understanding that both the cognitions are dissonant or 'out of tune'.
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → A, B, E, D, C
Cognitive dissonance, proposed by Leon Festinger, says that the cognitive components of an attitude must be consonant; when two cognitions are dissonant, one of them changes in the direction of consonance. The steps follow this logic.
A. Identifying the cognition to be changed — The starting point is the person’s present cognition, ‘I chew tobacco’.
B. Establishing the correct cognition that is understanding tobacco causes oral cancer. — A second cognition is set beside it: tobacco causes oral cancer.
E. Understanding that both the cognitions are dissonant or ‘out of tune’. — Holding both ideas makes the person feel that something is ‘out of tune’, which is the state of dissonance.
D. Adopting the correct attitude that is, I will not chew tobacco — To remove the dissonance, the person changes the behaviour-related cognition, the healthy and sensible way of reducing it.
C. Resulting in cognitive consistency — The two cognitions now fall in line with each other: cognitive consistency is reached, which is where the process ends.
NCERT (2025-26): “Attitude Change … The concept of cognitive dissonance was proposed by Leon Festinger. It emphasises the cognitive component. Here the basic idea is that the cognitive components of an attitude must be ‘consonant’ (opposite of ‘dissonant’), i.e., they should be logically in line with each other. If an individual finds that two cognitions in an attitude are dissonant, then one of them will be changed in the direction of consonance.…” “think about the following ideas (‘cognitions’) : Cognition I : Pan masala causes mouth cancer which is fatal. Cognition II : I eat pan masala. Holding these two ideas or cognitions will make any individual feel that something is ‘out of tune’, or dissonant, in the attitude towards pan masala. Therefore, one of these ideas will have to be changed, so that consonance can be attained. In the example given above, in order to remove or reduce the dissonance, I will stop eating pan masala (change Cognition II). This would be the healthy, logical and sensible way of reducing dissonance.…” “…Both balance and cognitive dissonance are examples of cognitive consistency. Cognitive consistency means that two components, aspects or elements of the attitude, or attitude system, must be in the same direction.…” |