Dissonance averted: Self-concept organization moderates the effect of hypocrisy on attitude change

Journal of Experimental Social Psychology

Volumn 46, Issue 2, 2010, Pages 361-366

  McConnell, Allen R ^a   Brown, Christina M ^b  

^a MIAMI UNIVERSITY   (United States)

^b SAINT LOUIS UNIVERSITY   (United States)

Author keywords

Attitudes; Dissonance; Self affirmation; Self complexity; Self concept

Indexed keywords

EID: 75749106963     PISSN: 00221031     EISSN: 10960465     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/j.jesp.2009.10.019     Document Type: Article

References (40)

1. Aronson E.A. The theory of cognitive dissonance: The evolution and vicissitudes of an idea. In: McGarty C., and Haslam S.A. (Eds). The message of social psychology: Perspectives on mind in society (1997), Blackwell, Oxford, UK 20-35
2. Brown C.M., and McConnell A.R. Effort or escape: Self-concept structure determines self-regulatory behavior. Self and Identity 8 (2009) 365-377
3. Brown C.M., and McConnell A.R. When chronic isn't chronic: The moderating role of active self-aspects. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 35 (2009) 3-15
4. Carver C.S. Self-regulation of action and affect. In: Baumeister R.F., and Vohs K.D. (Eds). Handbook of self-regulation: Research, theory, and applications (2004), Guilford Press, New York 13-39
5. Cooper J., and Fazio R.H. A new look at dissonance theory. In: Berkowitz L. (Ed). Advances in experimental social psychology Vol. 17 (1984), Academic Press, Orlando, FL 229-266
6. Dixon T.M., and Baumeister R.F. Escaping the self: Moderating effects of self-complexity. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 17 (1991) 363-368
7. Duval S., and Wicklund R. A theory of objective self-awareness (1972), Academic Press, New York
8. Elliot A.J., and Devine P.G. On the motivational nature of cognitive dissonance: Dissonance as psychological discomfort. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 67 (1994) 382-394
9. Festinger L. A theory of cognitive dissonance (1957), Stanford University Press, Palo Alto, CA
10. Fried C.B. Hypocrisy and identification with transgressions: A case of undetected dissonance. Basic and Applied Social Psychology 20 (1998) 145-154
11. Fried C.B., and Aronson E. Hypocrisy, misattribution, and dissonance reduction. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 21 (1995) 925-933
12. Higgins E.T. Self-discrepancy: A theory relating self and affect. Psychological Review 94 (1987) 319-340
13. Koch E.J., and Shepperd J.A. Is self-complexity linked to better coping? A review of the literature. Journal of Personality 72 (2004) 727-760
14. Linville P.W. Self-complexity and affective extremity: Don't put all of your eggs in one cognitive basket. Social Cognition 3 (1985) 94-120
15. McConnell A.R., Renaud J.M., Dean K.K., Green S.P., Lamoreaux M.J., Hall C.E., et al. Whose self is it anyway? Self-aspect control moderates the relation between self-complexity and well-being. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 41 (2005) 1-18
16. McConnell A.R., Rydell R.J., and Brown C.M. On the representation of self-concept: How self-concept organization influences affective responses and self-evaluations. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 45 (2009) 695-707
17. McConnell A.R., and Strain L.M. Content and structure of the self-concept. In: Spencer S., and Sedikides C. (Eds). The self in social psychology (2007), Psychology Press, New York 51-72
18. McConnell A.R., Strain L.M., Brown C.M., and Rydell R.J. The simple life: On the benefits of low self-complexity. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 35 (2009) 823-835
19. McKimmie B.M., Terry D.J., Hogg M.A., Manstead A.S.R., Spears R., and Doosje B. I'm a hypocrite, but so is everyone else: Group support and the reduction of cognitive dissonance. Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice 7 (2003) 214-224
20. McQueen A., and Klein W.M.P. Experimental manipulations of self-affirmation: A systematic review. Self and Identity 5 (2006) 289-354
21. Rafaeli-Mor E., Gotlib I.H., and Revelle W. The meaning and measurement of self-complexity. Personality and Individual Differences 27 (1999) 341-356
22. Rafaeli-Mor E., and Steinberg J. Self-complexity and well-being: A review and research synthesis. Personality and Social Psychology Review 6 (2002) 31-58
23. Renaud J.M., and McConnell A.R. Organization of the self-concept and the suppression of self-relevant thoughts. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 38 (2002) 79-86
24. Renaud J.M., and McConnell A.R. Wanting to be better but thinking you can't: Implicit theories of personality moderate the impact of self-discrepancies on self-esteem. Self and Identity 6 (2007) 41-50
25. Rydell R.J., McConnell A.R., and Beilock S.L. Multiple social identities and stereotype threat: Imbalance, accessibility, and working memory. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 96 (2009) 949-966
26. Rydell R.J., McConnell A.R., and Mackie D.M. Consequences of discrepant explicit and implicit attitudes: Cognitive dissonance and increased information processing. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 44 (2008) 1526-1532
27. Schleicher D.J., and McConnell A.R. The complexity of self-complexity: An associated systems theory approach. Social Cognition 23 (2005) 387-416
28. Schmader T., Johns M., and Forbes C. An integrated process model of stereotype threat on performance. Psychological Review 115 (2008) 336-356
29. Schwarz N., and Clore G.L. Feelings and phenomenal experiences. In: Higgins E.T., and Kruglanski A.W. (Eds). Social psychology: Handbook of basic principles (1996), Guilford, New York 433-465
30. Scott W.A. Structure of natural cognitions. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 12 (1969) 261-278
31. Sherman D.K., and Cohen G.L. The psychology of self-defense: Self-affirmation theory. In: Zanna M.P. (Ed). Advances in experimental social psychology Vol. 38 (2006), Academic Press, San Diego, CA 183-242
32. Sherman S.J., and Gorkin L. Attitude bolstering when behavior is inconsistent with central attitudes. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 16 (1980) 388-403
33. Showers C. Compartmentalization of positive and negative self-knowledge: Keeping bad apples out of the bunch. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 62 (1992) 1036-1049
34. Simon L., Greenberg J., and Brehm J. Trivialization: The forgotten mode of dissonance reduction. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 68 (1995) 247-260
35. Spencer S.J., Steele C.M., and Quinn D.M. Stereotype threat and women's math performance. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 35 (1999) 4-28
36. Steele C.M. The psychology of self-affirmation: Sustaining the integrity of the self. In: Berkowitz L. (Ed). Advances in experimental social psychology Vol. 21 (1988), Academic Press, San Diego, CA 261-302
37. Steele C.M., and Aronson J. Stereotype threat and the intellectual test performance of African Americans. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 69 (1995) 797-811
38. Stone J., Aronson E., Crain A.L., Winslow M.P., and Fried C.B. Inducing hypocrisy as a means of encouraging young adults to use condoms. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 20 (1994) 116-128
39. Stone J., and Cooper J. A self-standards model of cognitive dissonance. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 37 (2001) 228-243
40. Stone J., and Fernandez N.C. To practice what we preach: The use of hypocrisy and cognitive dissonance to motivate behavior change. Social and Personality Psychology Compass 2 (2008) 1024-1051