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Religion in schools argument
Religion and education essay
Religion on education
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Cognitive Dissonance with School Prayer On June 17th, 1963 school prayer was taken out of public schools because of a Supreme Court ruling that all students shouldn’t be subjected to prayer. As a result of this ruling, the teaching of the character and belief of the founding fathers, which played a large part in our country’s history, quickly decreased. Although never mentioned, the Supreme Court’s ruling suggested to the public that prayer in public schools was incongruent with the beliefs and attitudes upon which this country was founded? In the following report, I will attempt to present information concerning cognitive dissonance that will assist you in answering the aforementioned question. Purpose and Significance Cognitive dissonance occurs when inconsistencies with behaviors and attitudes/beliefs exist either within an individual or between two parties. More expressly, cognitive dissonance is when actions and values are different. The purpose of researching cognitive dissonance is to answer the following questions: 1. Is cognitive dissonance a good thing or a bad thing? What makes it good or bad? 2. How should we act, when faced with feelings of cognitive dissonance? I have used the experiences and views of modern people to collect information concerning cognitive dissonance. Also, I have researched the experiences of historical figures to learn more about how they successfully dealt with cognitive dissonance. We all experience some sort of cognitive dissonance in our lives; therefore, when we learn how to deal with it in a good way, we will come to new understandings and will be able to add value to organizations and to society as a whole. Cognitive Dissonance within the Individual Have you ever don... ... middle of paper ... ...s of cognitive dissonance? Or, was there a way to maintain the attitudes and values by just altering the behavior slightly? I submit that by keeping a time where gratitude was paid (whether to God or in general), many of the beliefs upon which this country was founded wouldn’t be forgotten. Cognitive Dissonance can be a good thing or a bad thing; it will be a good thing, if the individual(s) involved let their correct attitudes and beliefs guide their actions, and not the other way around. Bibliography: Padover, Saul Kussiel. The World of the Founding Fathers. South Brunswick, New Jersey: A.S. Barns, 1977 Stewart, John J. The Glory of Mormonism. Salt Lake City, Utah: Mercury Publishing Company, 1963. Internet Addresses: http://spot.colorado.com/~craigr/Dissonance/sld002.htm http://www.sunnygenesee.cc.ny.us/fac/tomczak/social/sld017.htm
Cognitive dissonance is having inconsistent thoughts, beliefs, or attitudes, thus relating in behavior or attitude changes. Attitude or thoughts are more likely to shift due to one’s behavior and actions. Cognitive dissonance can be seen in Jonestown and the KKK. This psychological technique is used to get people to join the cult and ultimately become members. In Jonestown the
Cognitive dissonance is when an individual feels uncomfortable because they are a good person but they have chose to do a bad things. Instead of dealing with the consequences they ignore the situation. Cognitive dissonance can relate to Lords of the flies book on Chapter 9. The morning after the boys killed Simon thinking it was the
This paper deals with the stance of our schools and government on prayer in school. In this paper I will show how our government is hypocritical in its dealings of the prayer in school issue and how some of us as citizens are hypocritical as well. I will discuss the freedom of religion rights and how its interpretation affects prayer in school. Also, I will address the popular phrase, “separation of church and state”, that is often used to argue against prayer in school.
One study done by Leon Festinger in 1957 demonstrates the desire to resolve cognitive dissonance. In this experiment, participants had to perform a series of extremely boring tasks, such as putting spools of thread into a box, dumping them out, and then putting them back in for half an hour and turning wooden knobs (that performed no action other than turning) quarter turns until they were all turned, and then starting back at the beginning and turning them all another quarter turn until the “end” of the study. After the participants were finished with their deliberately boring task, they were asked to lie to the next set of participants (actually just confederates) and were offered either one dollar or twenty dollars to tell them that the study was exciting and enjoyable. This task created cognitive dissonance, which can also occur when reading Science Fiction. After the participants lied, they were asked to honestly rate the task they performed. Surprisingly, the participants who were paid less rated the experiment more highly than those who were paid more. The explanation behind this is that the participants who were paid more cold justify their lie with the fact that they got twenty for it, thus resolving the cognitive dissonance. On
American social psychologist and original developer of the theory of Cognitive Dissonance Leon Festinger breaks down his theory into two main parts. First, the presence of dissonance, inconsistency or unpleasantness, will psychologically motivate a person to achieve consonance, consistency or pleasantness (Festinger 3). Psychologist Elliot Aronson, key researcher in the 20th century of this theory, expands on the definition of dissonance to be more straightforward. Dissonance occurs when a person holds two ideas, beliefs, or opinions at the same time that are contradictory with one and other. Part two of the theory states that a person will attempt to avoid situations or knowledge that would possibly or pro...
Cognitive dissonance theory is the theory that we act to reduce the discomfort we feel when two of our thoughts are inconsistent. There are three methods that dissonance can be condensed. Individuals can modify one or more of the beliefs, attitude, behaviors, and more, this way the connection between the two elements are in agreement with one another. Another method is to gather new information that will compensate the dissonant beliefs. The third method is to decrease the importance of the beliefs, attitudes, behavior, and etc. Dissonance theory does not say that these methods will work; only people in the state of cognitive dissonance will use these methods to condense the degree of their dissonance. Cognitive dissonance theory
Cognitive dissonance is a communication theory mostly used in the field of social psychology in providing a theoretical framework in dealing with various issues relating to psychology. The title provides us with the concept that cognitive is thinking while dissonance is the inconsistency or conflict brought about. Cognitive dissonance manifests when one holds two or more incompatible beliefs simultaneously. This theory has been used and applied in several disciplines including communication, due to its simplicity and straightforwardness. The theory is commonly applied in these dynamic fields since it replaces previous conditioning or reinforcement theories by viewing individuals as more purposeful decision makers striving to acquire a balance in their beliefs. Cognitions are chunks or bits of knowledge which can pertain to any variety of values, emotions or values. These cognations can be related to one another or they can also be completely independent from each other (Cooper, 06). For instance, one may like to eat junk food, but may also be trying to lose weight. The two cognitions are related to each other in tha...
The desire for consistency can go beyond rational thought or force a person to rationalize when things are out of line. People find comfort in knowing what to expect. When what is known and believed is challenged, people are disrupted and forced to make a decision on how to process conflicting information. To avoid the discomfort caused by cognitive dissonance, people may ignore opposing views, examine and change their views to maintain consistency with their actions or even seek reassurance (Defining Communication Theories, 2001).
lected Theory: Cognitive Dissonance is an objective communication theory created by Leon Festinger, a Stanford University social psychologist. Cognitive Dissonance is a conflicting mental state caused by discrepancy between two beliefs held by an individual. The more important the belief the stronger the dissonance. The strain caused by dissonance leads us to change our behavior or belief. Festinger says there are three different ways to reduce or avoid dissonance: selective exposure, postdecision dissonance, and minimal justification. Also, Festinger describes three different reasons for why one reduces dissonance. These reasons are self- consistency, personal responsibility for bad outcomes, and self- affirmation to dissipate dissonance.
Prohibiting School Prayer Threatens Religious Liberty. Civil Liberties. Ed. James D. Torr. -. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2003.
“Humans are not a rational animal, but a rationalizing one” (“Class 20”). This was asserted by the much acclaimed, significant, and influential social psychologist Leon Festinger as referencing to his theory of Cognitive Dissonance. Social psychology is “a branch of psychology particularly concerned with understanding social behaviors such as” incentive and compliance (Sheehy). Festinger’s contributions to the social and cognitive branches of psychology as well psychology overall prove themselves worthy to today. This theory specifically challenged many common notions that were seemingly already accepted by behaviorists everywhere during his time (Tavris and Aronson). Its reality awakens its verifications. Consecutively, its “enormous motivational power” affects many on a daily basis (Tavris and Aronson). In the final analysis, the theory of Cognitive Dissonance by Leon Festinger is fundamental to behaviorism while directly changing the way human beings across the planet think and do.
We all experience psychological conflicts, knowingly or unknowingly. They involve psychological conflicts among our thoughts, emotions, and rational thinking. It may be the most dangerous conflict of all due to the battleground in which it take place in -- our mind.
Cognitive dissonance is widely regarded as a post-decision theory, meaning that it’s constructs are enacted when individuals attempt to persuade themselves after a decision or course of action has already been carried out (Dainton & Zelley, 2015). This persuasion only occurs when the individual must confront the inconsistency between their actions and beliefs. Because this confrontation occurs within the individual, Cognitive Dissonance Theory is a psychological perspective. This means that different psychological variables will affect the behavior of the individual. While cognitive dissonance occurs solely within the individual, that is not to say that other’s are not aware of it and won’t capitalize on it.
To have prayer in the public school system is against the idea of separation of church and state. The state should not institute school prayer because the public schools are for education, not a place where religion should be taught (Gaylor, 1995, p. 1). The state should not force every child to say a prayer in the classroom because not everyone believes...
You imagine that you are having a friend who used to have only pizza. But some of your other friends used to say that he used to take other food items. In this case, the wrong interpreted information is saved in your conscious level. So when others reveal information against you opinion automatically you will be hesitating to receive that information from that source which didn’t support your argument and you will be trying to gather information that supports your argument. This is an example for one type of cognitive bias which is known as confirmative bias.