Cognitive dissonance and attitude change: Role of various standards interacting with self-esteem

The purpose of this study was to examine the Self Standards Model (SSM) of cognitive dissonance (Stone & Cooper, 2001) that has been introduced to explain the contradictions between different perspectives about the role of the “Self” in cognitive dissonance processes. This study used a quasi-experimental design with pretest-posttest and a control group. The statistical population consisted of all undergraduate students of psychology at Shahid Beheshti University in Tehran (250 students in all) in the 2009 – 10 academic year. A sample of 150 students was selected via purposeful sampling. Participants were divided into high and low self-esteem with regard to self-esteem scores obtained from Rosenberg’s Self esteem Scale (1965). Then they were assigned to four experimental and one control groups. They got cognitive dissonant through Induced Compliance Paradigm. According to the predictions of the SSM, then, some nutral and positive self-attributes were made accessible for the subjects in a brief intervention and eventually, their dissonance reduction was measured. Data analysis showed that in the groups for which neutral self-attributes had been accessible; self esteem did not play a significant role in dissonance reduction. However, self esteem did play a significant role in the other groups. In the other groups, This findings support the predictions of SSM, i.e. this model can explain contradictions between new perspectives about cognitive dissonance. Thus, we can contribute to the dissonance reduction and solving the consequent conflicts in dissionance erousing situations by introducing tasks containing personal or normative standards depending on the client self-esteem level.