Who proposed the concept of cognitive dissonance?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → Leon Festinger
Option (1) Leon Festinger — Correct. Festinger proposed cognitive dissonance: the thoughts within an attitude must be consonant, that is, logically in line with each other. When two cognitions clash, one of them changes in the direction of consonance.
Option (2) Richard LaPiere — Incorrect. LaPiere’s study of a Chinese couple travelling in the USA showed that behaviour does not always follow attitude.
Option (3) Fritz Heider — Incorrect. Heider proposed the balance concept of attitude change, the P-O-X triangle.
Option (4) Tajfel and Turner — Incorrect. Their work is on social identity: people seek a positive identity through the groups they belong to, which can lead to ingroup bias and prejudice.
Note: A similar question was also asked in CUET (UG) 2026 on 07-06-2026 (Slot 2).
NCERT (2025-26): “Process of Attitude Change … (b) 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.…” |