Theories of Attitudes: Identification and Cognitive Dissonance - Essay Example

An example of the identification theory would be someone simply liking or disliking something because someone that they wish to establish a close relationship feels the same way.

          The positive aspect of identification is that it can bring people together when they find they have the same attitudes regarding something specific. Many people may like the individuality of having their behaviors and attitudes, while others may appreciate having someone to share it with. The negative aspect of this theory is that it disables some people from being able to make their own decisions and draw conclusions in concern of a specific topic. Even if they previously did not like something, they may change their attitude because the person they want to be close to feels differently. Another negative aspect of this theory is that if the person they are trying to get close to is no longer around, then there is no reason for that person to hold onto the attitude of someone else and they need to reform their attitude.

          Unlike identification, cognitive dissonance is when a person is at odds with how they feel about something; there is an inconsistency in their beliefs, causing one idea to become the opposite of another idea (Festinger, 1957). The person becomes uncomfortable by holding two contradictory ideas simultaneously and attempting to change their attitudes to balance their ideas out. For example, if a person wants something but is unable to obtain it, they criticize it, often with a lie or an assumption, because they are unable to get it. The components of cognitive dissonance include the person realizing that they have two contradicting beliefs; understanding and thus feeling uncomfortable that these two beliefs exist simultaneously; the person finding a means to rid themselves of one of the offending beliefs so that they are left with only one.

          The positive aspect of cognitive dissonance is that the person understands that they do have two opposing thoughts and that this could cause problems in their train of logic. By ridding themselves of one of the beliefs, they are making more sense for themselves. The negative aspect of this theory is that the person is turning themselves against something that they believed in or that they agreed with. This alters their train of thought, which can only be worsened if they changed their attitudes by negatively criticizing something that they once held in high regard.

          Both identification and cognitive dissonance involve a person altering their behaviors and attitudes due to an interfering force, whether this force is another person or another idea or attitude. Another similarity is that when a person either displays the identification theory or the cognitive dissonance theory they are not being true to their nature because they want something different for a reason other than a natural response or behavior. Both methods require the individual to think for something or someone other than themselves. The difference between the two is that with identification the person is changing their attitude to become close to someone else, while cognitive dissonance allows a person to balance out their logic and their ways of thinking by getting rid of an offending factor.