Cognitive Dissonance and Experienced Negative Affect: Evidence that Dissonance Increases Experienced Negative Affect Even in the Absence of Aversive Consequences

TLDR

Research has suggested that dissonance produced in the induced compliance paradigm is accompanied by experienced negative affect. This study examined whether dissonance generated in the absence of aversive consequences increases negative affect by using a paradigm where participants’ counterattitudinal action could potentially lead to an aversive outcome. Both experiments showed that freely choosing a counterattitudinal statement without aversive consequences produced higher negative affect than being told to do so, and that this affect diminished after attitude change, confirming that dissonance alone elevates negative affect.

Abstract

Research has suggested that the dissonance produced in the induced compliance paradigm is accompanied by experienced negative affect. This research, however, used a paradigm in which participants’ counterattitudinal action had the potential to bring about an aversive consequence, thus leaving the question of whether the dissonance produced in the absence of aversive consequences causes increased negative affect. Results from two experiments demonstrated that individuals report more negative affect following freely choosing (high choice) than following being told (low choice) to write a counterattitudinal statement that would produce no aversive consequences. The second experiment also demonstrated that the negative affect is reduced following attitude change and eliminated an alternative explanation of similar, past experiments. Discussion focuses on the implications of these findings.