In the movie Mother, John Henderson is a somewhat successful science fiction writer who cannot seem to have a successful marriage. After finalizing his second divorce, John begins to question what caused all of his failed relationship with women. He then links how his past wives never believed in him, just like his mother. In order to fix the relationship between John and his mother, Beatrice, he decides to move back in with her into his old room from high school as an experiment to help him figure out where his past relationships have gone wrong. John is in need of approval from his mother whom he thinks is the cause of the failed marriages. When John tells his mother about the details of the experiment, she is convinced that she had …show more content…
This theory dealt with the internal tension that a person gets following an important decision. The three conditions that are most likely to increase the feeling of postdecision dissonance include the more important the issue , the longer an individual delays in choosing between two equally attractive options, and the greater difficulty involved in reversing the decision once it has been made (220). Once a decision has been made, feelings of second guessing and regret begin to weigh on one’s mind. This leads them to go seek reassurance about the choice whether it is information on the topic or social support. This is a way to seek approval from those who do not bring feelings of dissonance to …show more content…
The first revision was made by University of California social psychologist Elliot Aronson when he was able to determine that there attitude and behavior inconsistencies do not always create dissonance. He created his theory on self-consistency, and that humans were rationalizing animals who just want to appear reasonable to ourselves. One’s self-concept must be inconsistent with the behavior displayed in order for dissonance to be present. A person’s behavior will depend on how that person views self. Princeton psychologist Joel Cooper agrees with Aronson on the first revision that having inconsistencies of attitude and behavior does not mean that dissonance is created; however, he states that knowing that one’s actions have harmed another person unnecessarily will cause dissonance. Knowing beforehand that making the decision could cause harm and still electing to continue is when someone accepts as their own personal responsibility. Stanford psychologist Claude Steele came up with the approach for reduction of dissonance through self-affirmation. The positive thoughts that this brings can block out any consistency issues one may have. When one has high self-esteem, dissonance may quickly appear, but it will soon
Sometimes the greatest test of a theory is its longevity. Over time, some theories will be disproved, some will be modified, and some will become the basis for a whole new group of theories. Leon Festinger’s theory of cognitive dissonance has stood up to challenge for over forty years, and is considered by many to be the single most important theory of social psychology. Though there have been modifications to the theory after many recreations and simulations of the original 1957 experiment, few have been able to really disqualify Festinger’s findings. It would be safe to say that many people don’t even have a full grasp of the incredible implications that Festinger’s research and experiments have towards the self-concept and behavior, myself not excluded. The actual definition of cognitive dissonance is almost too simple: an unpleasant feeling that arises from the contradiction of belief and action. Festinger, however, went on to find that dissonance would in fact change attitudes over time, helping people to justify their behavior when they know it is clearly wrong.
It is a very different motivation from what psychologists are used to dealing with but, as we shall see, nonetheless powerful” (p. 3). A few different factors determine the amount of dissonance individuals experience, including the degree to which one’s belief systems deviate from the regularity. Different cognitions, or types of knowledge, determine the overall strength of dissonance, for instance cognitions, which are connected to personal beliefs and the self, tend to result in stronger dissonance. Furthermore, the relation between dissonance and consonance could also play a role in the degree of strength of dissonance: the greater the dissonance, the more pressure there is to reduce it and reach consonance. When cognitive dissonance occurs, it often results in a conflict between a “person’s two beliefs or a belief and an action” (Festinger 1957, p.), and it is influential to individuals’ actions and behaviors. When a conflict arises, there are different steps individuals take to reduce the consequent dissonance. Festinger suggest three key strategies to minimize cognitive dissonance: (i) changing a behavioral cognitive element, or the focus is put on more supportive cognitive elements that outweigh the dissonant behavior; (ii) changing the environmental cognitive element, or the importance of the conflicting belief is reduced, and (iii) adding new cognitive elements, or the conflicting belief is changed in order to be consistent with other
Cognitive dissonance makes it difficult for people to accept conflicting new ideas. Conflicting beliefs create discomfort
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...
To begin with, Gilman created the narrator as a nearly anonymous identity; we know her only as John’s wife. This power imbalance extends to other areas of their relationship. John dominates her in a progressively patronizing manner. His character is displayed as strong, practical and stereotypically masculine and he seems skeptical of her seemingly weak, feminine condition. John diagnoses her problem, and prescribes the “rest cure” he believes she needs. The narrator has no say in her condition, and when she attempts to speak her mind, he treats her like a child and makes light of her voice. “John laughs at me, of course, but one expects that” (An Introduction to Fiction 572) which illustrates the role women are expected to play and accept in a marriage. Another main function Gilman gave of John’s control over the narrator is his inhibiting of her writing. Although she believes writing would help her condition, as I’m sure Gilman did, John insists it would only debilitate her ailment further. He stifles her creativity and intellect, forcing her into the role of the submissive wife. She is forced to hide her writings, which frustrate her more “I did write for a while in spite of them; but it does exhaust me a good deal—having to be so sly about it, or else meet with heavy opposition” (572).
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).
All sense of individuality and self worth is taken way from the narrator when her name is never revealed to the audience. Furthermore, John continues to belittle his wife by giving her the command to not walk around at night. Although the John thinks in his mind that he is looking out for the best interest of his wife, in actuality, he is taking away his wife’s abilities to make choices for herself. There is a possibility that John’s controlling personality is one of the factors that led to his wife’s psychosis. Such a controlling life style more than likely limited the narrator’s ability to live any life outside of the home.
The most obvious is the way my two thoughts on whether I should stay at school or go see my family are conflicting and causing me dissonance and me trying to reduce dissonance. Another clear point is the reason for my decision. This reason is one Festinger calls the Personal Responsibility for Bad Outcomes. One reason I chose to go to Terre Haute with my mom is because I knew if I told her that I didn’t want to go that, not only would it hurt her feelings, but she would be disappointed in me. Knowing that I made my mom feel bad would make me feel very guilty and I could not handle being responsible for that. Cognitive Dissonance would say that I reduced my dissonance by changing the importance of staying at school. I reduced the postdecision dissonance I felt by adding consonant elements to the choice I
Indecisiveness is an inner conflict that inhibits a person from choosing a decision and acting on it. This inner conflict is easily relatable; however, explaining the fuel that ignites the conflict is much more difficult. Every human being must make decisions every day. Moreover, some of these decisions are tougher to choose than others. Psychologically, a decision is not tough because the situation is difficult, but the way the mind perceives the situation is what makes the choice baffling. In other words, humans make decisions more arduous than they seem. Also, the mind of every individual is unique and processes information
“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.
If the reader pays no mind to his character, they will think that John is merely a staple of the ideal Victorian husband. Although this is true, John’s character is a representation of the practice of paternal benevolence in a marriage. In the first entry of the short story, the narrator brings up instances of John’s irritating reassurances over subtle yet eerie instincts the narrator seems to have. For example, when they first get to the house, the narrator tells John, “...there is something strange about the house — I can feel it” (Gilman 809). John simply tells her it must be a drought and he closes the window. In the next paragraph, the narrator admits that she does get angry at John sometimes and blames her own nervous system. It seems as though John has waxed over all of her situations and instead of blaming John, she blames herself in true Victorian fashion. In this era, women were to believe that there could be nothing wrong with their husbands. The man was superior and the woman was inferior. When John dismisses the narrator’s instincts and problems, he is belittling her like a parent belittles a child’s instincts and problems. This is further supported later on in the story when the narrator gets up to see the wallpaper move. John says, “What is it, little girl? Don’t go walking about like that -- you’ll get cold”(Gilman 814). Later on, when John tells the narrator that she is getting better and she disapproves, he sits
First, the 1900’s is a time where women are trying to put away the homemaker image and obtain work. This causes many hardships between husbands and wives. Jane is on the verge of beginning to leave her homemaker image and begin a career in writing. “I am sitting by the window now, up in the atrocious nursery, and there is nothing to hinder my writing much as I please, save lack of strength” (Gilman, 1599). Jane is starting to recognize that she is loosing her feminism. John recognizes this and tries to do everything he can to stop Jane. John knows that Jane is putting aside her role as being a wife, homemaker and mother. In these times, husbands’ do not believe that women could balance both home and work responsibilities. Jane decides to oppose the homemaker life and branch out into writing. The feminist role is “The concept of "The New Woman," for example, began to circulate in the 1890s-1910s as women are pushing for broader roles outside the home-roles that could draw on women's intelligence and non-domestic skills and talents” (http:/...
Even when narrator trying to questioning, John will stop her from having her own thoughts, so his wife’s fate was simply submissive under his
This story demonstrates a prime example of a patriarchal society in which the degree of influence by Dr. John in the decisions of the marriage, which ends up in his wife’s dementia. In the story right after Jane gave birth to her child she gets into a deep depression so her husband and her brother, two respected physicians ordered her rest. The house where they live is away from town and she only had contact with her husband and her nurse. "[The house] is quite alone standing well back from the road, quite three miles from the village. It makes me think of English places that you read about, for there are hedges and walls and gates that lock, and lots of separate little houses for the gardeners and people." Gilman, Charlotte