Meera is fond of her colleague Anjali, and Anjali likes Meera too. Anjali strongly supports organic farming, but Meera thinks organic farming is a waste of money. Both of them know about this difference. Meera's cousin Suresh has read that smoking causes lung cancer, which is fatal. Yet he smokes every day. Holding both ideas together makes him uneasy. He often finds himself thinking about it while lighting a cigarette.
Which concept explains Suresh's uneasiness, and how would it be reduced?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → Cognitive dissonance; one of his cognitions changes in the direction of consonance
Option (1) Cognitive dissonance; one of his cognitions changes in the direction of consonance — Correct. Suresh holds two ideas that clash: smoking causes fatal cancer, and he smokes. This is cognitive dissonance (Leon Festinger). One cognition must change towards consonance, and stopping smoking is the healthy way to do it.
Option (2) Imbalance in the P-O-X triangle; one of the attitudes changes in the direction of balance — Incorrect. Imbalance belongs to Heider's P-O-X triangle. It needs another person or object linked to the person by three relationships. Suresh's case has no such triangle, only two clashing cognitions.
Option (3) Identification; he changes after a liked source first changes behaviour — Incorrect. Identification is the first step of Mohsin's two-step concept. The target likes a source and copies the source's changed behaviour. No source is involved in Suresh's uneasiness.
Option (4) Reference group influence; he changes to fit the norms of his group — Incorrect. Reference groups teach norms of acceptable behaviour and thinking. They explain how attitudes are formed.
NCERT (2026-27): “Process of Attitude Change … “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.” |