Glory Days of CDT Research (the early 1960s)

Zajonc (1960) identified three conditions of dissonance that he gleaned from various research in the area of cognitive dissonance. First, all decisions or choices result in dissonance to the extent that the alternative not chosen contains positive features which make it attractive (attractivenss of alternative not chosen). Secondly, the condition called forced-compliance wherein a person is forced to express publicly an opinion which is contrary to his own opinions and beliefs. The stronger the opinion that the individual is denying the higher the level of dissonance (magnitude). Non-forced compliance is a condition wherein an individual expresses false opinions in the anticipation of an reward or avoidance of punishment. If the reward-incentive is great enough or the punishment severe enough (punishment avoidance), an individual will feel justified in his decision to lie and no dissonance occurs. And thirdly, individuals will seek out information to reduce dissonance and avoid information that increases dissonance (source 5). These early observations later led Zajonc to a postulate the 'drive X habit' of motivation attributable to cognitive dissonance (source 8).

Festinger (1962) states that once a decision is made and an object is chosen, cognitive dissonance occurs. However, individuals tend to rate their choice as more attractive and the alternative as less attractive in an effort to reduce dissonance. In the case where an individual lies and the reward is paltry (forced compliance), the individual will change his own personal opinion to be congruent with his (opposite) public opinion in an effort to reduce dissonance.

Festinger uses the example of resisting temptation to illuminate the predictive ability of CDT. In a before/after experiment by Elliot Aronson and J.M. Carlsmith the act of resisting temptation was empirically observed under three conditions: absence of desired object, presence of desired object with grave threat associated and presence of desired oject with mild threat associated. The result of the study indicated that in the presence of high dissonance (presence of desired object with mild threat associated), subjects downgraded the attractiveness of the desired object in an effort to reduce their feelings of dissonance. In the other two conditions listed above there existed a condition of low dissonance and an increased attractiveness of the desired object (source 10).

Brock (1967) conducted four experiments to test the reliability of CDT. Brock found his data to be in support of Festinger's theory that high dissonance subjects (smokers) avoided messages that support the link between lung cancer and smoking and conversely seek out messages that challenge that link (source 2). Brock used a system of static-reducing pressing bars to improve message quality. Smokers were more likely to press the bar to reduce static in the message that challenged the link between lung cancer and smoking and less likely to press the bar to reduce static in the message that supported the link between smoking and lung cancer.