Conflict resolution

This is number 11 in my series of short posts on learning theories. My intention is to work through the alphabet of psychologists and provide a brief overview of each theory, and how it can be applied in education. In my most recent post I examined Leon Festinger's work on social comparison and its applications to education. In this post, we continue to explore Festinger's work, this time focusing on his theory of cognitive dissonance. This is a simplified interpretation of the theory, so if you wish to learn more, please read the associated literature.

The theory

American psychologist Leon Festinger was interested in the conflict that we experience when our beliefs or values do not coincide with other values and beliefs. We naturally like consistency but if this consistency is challenged by external influences, we experience discomfort, and tend to attempt to rationalise this through reasoning. Festinger called this phenomenon cognitive dissonance. In effect, says Festinger, we seek to reduce our dissonance through attempting to rationalise our thoughts and beliefs and those with which they conflict. This may emerge as modified behaviour to reduce the dissonance, or alternatively an entrenchment of our previous beliefs and a rejection of those inconsistent with our own beliefs. Cognitive dissonance is essentially a theory of motivation through conflict resolution.

Here is one of Festinger's examples of cognitive dissonance in real life: "The person who continues to smoke, knowing that it is bad for his health, may also feel (a) he enjoys smoking so much it is worth it; (b) the chances of his health suffering are not as serious as some would make out; (c) he can't always avoid every possible dangerous contingency and still live; and (d) perhaps even if he stopped smoking he would put on weight which is equally bad for his health. So, continuing to smoke is, after all, consistent with his ideas about smoking." (Festinger, 1957, p 2)

How it can be applied in education

A lot of learning is based upon making decisions and solving problems. Indeed, problem based learning is thought to be one of the most effective situated learning methods. Some problems we encounter in education have conflicting outcomes. As Kendra Cherry argues: "Cognitive dissonance plays a role in many value judgements, decisions and evaluations. Becoming aware of how conflicting beliefs impact the decision-making process is a great way to improve your ability to make faster and more accurate choices." Teachers should be aware that often, such conflicting outcomes can lead to confusion. However, if managed appropriately, this can be a positive motivator for students to learn more. Ill-structured problems, where the problem is only partially defined and where students need to 'fill in the gaps' discover that such problems can have several possible solutions. Each solution is valid, and deeper learning occurs through discussion between students on which solution is the best.

I have previously stated that I sometimes send my students out confused. This is a deliberate pedagogical method to spur them on to learn more - to attempt to reduce their cognitive dissonance by wider study of their course material and deeper critical reflection on their learning.

Often in learning, our expectations are not realised by the reality of a situation. This results in disappointment, which can be described as a form of cognitive dissonance. How we cope with this disappointment defines who we become. Teachers should be aware that not all disappointment is negative, and that some experiences where reality does not meet expectation could be exactly the motivation students need to try harder. As ever however, such classroom tactics should be premised on a good knowledge of one's students.

Even in behaviour management, cognitive dissonance can provide some useful guidance. Where behaviour is concerned, personal learning through reasoning is stronger than the threat of punishment. Hans and Michael Eysenck (1981) wrote that teaching children that stone-throwing is anti-social can be more effective if they are challenged to think about their actions, rather than being threatened with punishment. They comment that it is better for a child to reduce his cognitive dissonance by reasoning that he should stop throwing stones because he realises it is wrong, than to think 'I was forced to stop throwing stones but I still want to do it'. If he reasons for himself, he is more likely to think 'I don't really want to throw stones anyway.'

Here are a few more ideas on how cognitive dissonance could be applied in education.

References

Eysenck, H. and Eysenck, M. (1981) Mindwatching. London: Book Club Associates.
Festinger, L. (1957) A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance. Los Angeles: Stanford University Press.

Previous posts in this series:

Anderson ACT-R Cognitive Architecture
Argyris Double Loop Learning
Bandura Social Learning Theory
Bruner Scaffolding Theory
Craik and Lockhart Levels of Processing
Csíkszentmihályi Flow Theory
Dewey Experiential Learning
Engeström Activity Theory
Ebbinghaus Learning and Forgetting Curves
Festinger Social Comparison Theory

Photo by Brenna Lyn on Flickr


Conflict resolution Steve Wheeler is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

Go compare

We reach double figures with number 10 in my series of short blog posts on learning theories. My intention is to work through the alphabet of psychologists and provide a brief overview of each theory, and how it can be applied in education. In my last post I examined Hermann Ebbinghaus work on memory and forgetting and its applications to education. In this post, we explore the work of Leon Festinger, namely social comparison theory. This is a simplified interpretation of the theory, so if you wish to learn more, please read the associated literature.

The theory

We all want to know how well we are doing. According to Festinger, associating with other people allows us to evaluate our own strengths and weaknesses. Being around other people also helps us to assess our own biases, skills and knowledge. This is particularly true in cases where there are no defined boundaries or objective standards for us to adhere to. In such uncertainty, says Festinger, it's good to be around other people.  We often gauge our own reactions to something on the basis of how it compares to the reactions of others around us.  This is social comparison, and influences the way we behave and think, the clothes we wear and even the way we speak. The theory explains how we acquire regional accents, why we become slaves to fashion, how we adopt new ideas and even the way a group can reach a consensus of opinion over seemingly insoluble problems.

Festinger demonstrated that anxious individuals preferred to be in the company of others if there was an unknown outcome or an unfamiliar experience to face. There is a sense of solidarity that we are 'all in this together', and that we are not alone in our doubts or anxieties. Clearly, there is safety in numbers.

One of the most important findings in social comparison theory says Festinger, is that we tend to compare ourselves upwards (against those who have a perceived higher status) and downwards (against those we perceive as having a lower status, who are considered more unfortunate). At the heart of social comparison theory is the concept of self evaluation - each person has different personal goals in life, and the level of their engagement in social comparison depends on this.

How it can be applied in education

Many studies have been published on the detrimental potential of social comparison on self image and also on cognitive and affective trust between individuals. Teachers should be aware that social comparison can have a negative influence on students' self evaluation. This will probably become most evident in mixed ability classes. If children are constantly working alongside others who consistently achieve higher, their self esteem may suffer and they may eventually give up. Conversely, children who are high flyers may be dragged down by lower achievers.

On a more positive note, children who compare themselves to others who are higher achievers may be inspired to work harder themselves. If the ability is present to succeed, then upward social comparison may work positively as an extrinsic motivator. High achievers could be asked to support their weaker peers and in so doing, might strengthen their own abilities and knowledge as they teach (downward social comparison) as described in this dissertation. Teachers should be aware of both the positive and negative implications of this theory and manage their classes accordingly. It's a fine balance between success and failure, and this is another good reason why teachers need to become familiar with the abilities and potential of each and every one of their students.

Reference

Festinger, L. (1954) A theory of social comparison processes. Human Relations, 7, 117-140.

Previous posts in this series:

Anderson ACT-R Cognitive Architecture
Argyris Double Loop Learning
Bandura Social Learning Theory
Bruner Scaffolding Theory
Craik and Lockhart Levels of Processing
Csíkszentmihályi Flow Theory
Dewey Experiential Learning
Engeström Activity Theory
Ebbinghaus Learning and Forgetting Curves

Photo by Michael Johnson on Wikimedia Commons


Go compare Steve Wheeler is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.