Social Judgment Theory And Social Dissonance Theory

Influences impact how we communicate our messages and how we receive them. The influence theories are designed to explain the power of persuasion, through social interaction and through cognitions. The influences within communities can be powerful messages to individuals that are receptive, we see in 2nd Corinthians, Chapter 5, that we must spread the message of Christ and be accepted of him because we must be judged by him one day, therefore, “Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade, men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your conscience” (2 Corinthians 5:11) The Social Judgement Theory and The Cognitive Dissonance Theory examine how influences impact decisions, discussions, perceptions and evaluations. Even though these theories analyze the same types of behaviors in some similar ways they are different theory and need to be treated as separate. The Social Judgment Theory is “the perception and evaluation of an idea by comparing it with current attitudes” (Griffin,

Both theories incorporates the use of a scale. The social judgement theory uses a scale to measure attitude while the cognitive dissonance theory uses a dissonance thermometer to gauge the tension a person experiences from an inconsistency. Both theories show the influences that we press upon ourselves and illustrates the behaviors that go along with the influences. As for the social judgement theory, if we believe in something that causes weight to the topic which does not allow us to move our perception and an inconsistency reaches our cognition, which in return will cause a tension, this is the creation of cognitive dissonance. Therefore, even though these theory differ they are