Cognitive Dissonance Theory

I know it is bad for me. I have read about, heard of and listened to the side effects of this taboo beverage. Yet, I am always unable to resist the promise of instant gratification that can be mine simply by breaking the seal of its carbonated packaging. My eyes linger on the variety of healthier options that lay behind the sliding glass doors; however, my fingers are already tightly grasped around the silver label of a twenty ounce Diet Coke. Each refreshing sip fills my head with depressing logic that can only be drowned with more fizzy brown bubbles. The chemicals in Diet Coke have been shown to cause cancer in lab rats. The sugar substitutes found in Diet Coke increase sugar cravings negating the “diet” value. Habitual Diet Coke drinkers are significantly heavier than those who indulge in the occasional full calorie version. Diet Coke is detrimental to bone health… The warnings echo loudly in my head almost as loud as my endless self chastising. Why do I force myself to eat fresh fruits and vegetables when what I really want is Chipotle? Why do I walk to class when I’m offered a free ride? Why do I punish myself with healthy activities when I am killing my body with Diet Coke anyway? I curse the investigative reporter who first divulged Diet Coke’s dirty little secret as I hand over $1.35 for my second drink of the day. I would even feel guilty if the woman in front of me had not just bought cigarettes.
Cognitive dissonance is a feeling of discomfort resulting from inconsistent attitudes, thoughts and behaviors (West and Turner 131). The example above, while trivial, illustrates all the assumptions of Cognitive Dissonance Theory. A dissonant relationship exists between my love of Diet Coke and my desire to live a healthy lifestyle. My ultimate goal, to put these elements in equilibrium, cannot be achieved without giving one up. Luckily, the magnitude of dissonance in this scenario is not very high. I use rationale such as “at least I don’t smoke” to explain the inconsistency (West and Turner 135). When rationale alone is not enough I seek information from sources I know will be consistent with my own beliefs. This selective exposure leads me to the Coca-Cola website or magazine articles that claim one can lose 10lbs by switching to diet beverages. I like to believe that with every purchase of a diet Coke I am one step closer to the purchase of plain bottled water. Eventually, I will be motivated to reduce dissonance like the theory proposes. Testability is a weakness of cognitive dissonance theory. The theory can never be proved or disproved rather only the level of dissonance each person feels in relation to their actions can be tested (West and Turner 144-145). Since the level of dissonance changes from person to person a humanistic approach should be followed to test this theory. A possible experiment would be to ask a group of one hundred participants to drink a cup of a new diet beverage. The test subjects should be divided into two groups: those who know of the dangers of artificial sweeteners and those who are oblivious of them. The group who knows about the dangers should be given a fresh, ice-cold cup whereas those who do not know of the dangers should be given a slightly flat, room temperature cup. After drinking, the participants should be asked to write a review recommending the product to others. Finally each of the participants should be interviewed about their experience. Cognitive dissonance theory would predict that those who were given the better beverage would feel the most dissonance since they had to consume a drink that they believed to be detrimental to their health. While this study would provide a lot of in-depth information it would require a lot of time and resources to collect information on a limited number of participants. An objectivist approach would be more appropriate if more participants were required. To do this study objectively, the same experiment could be carried out, but a simple multiple choice questioner could replace the interview. The results from this study could be grouped together and analyzed quickly; however, would not leave any room for interpretation. The objectivist method is good in that it you can collect numerous responses from a wide range of participants quickly but would not be appropriate in testing a theory like cognitive dissonance where values are not neutral.

Works Cited

West, Richard, and Lynn H. Turner. Introducing Communication Theory Analysis and Application. 3rd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2007. 130-146.