Cognitive dissonance: The effect of self-focus on how self-esteem moderates attitude change

The aim of this study was to examine the effect of focusing on one’s self-concept on moderating role of self-esteem in cognitive dissonance processes. This is a semi-experimental study. Since there were 4 groups in the experiment and because of the necessity to include at least 15 subjects in each group, 60 students were selected from a population 400 students of Shahid Beheshti University’s graduate male students resident at the university’s dormitory using convenient sampling (because of inaccessibility to their name lists) and were divided into high and low self-esteem groups by completing Rosenberg’s self-esteem scale (1965). Each participant was assigned randomly to self-focus and no-self-focus groups. Subjects participated in a Role-playing/dissonance paradigm (Nail, Correll, Drake, Glenn, Scott & Stuckey, 2001) in which a loved person rejected the request of a 10 year-old child and then presented an insufficient justification. The participants’ self-esteem was measured using Rosenberg’s self-esteem scale (Rosenberg, 1965). A 2×2 ANOVA revealed that in the self-focus condition, the value of the loved person decreased more in participants with high self-esteem, relative to participants with low self-esteem. Results of the present research show that the effect of self-esteem on the reduction of cognitive dissonance requires that people focus on their self-concept. Thus, it is necessary to adapt the strategies presented for overcoming cognitive dissonance and other conflicts with the level of self-esteem and it is important to highlight the individual’s self-role.