Assignment #1 Explaining people’s actions is a task in itself but the Cognitive dissonance theory helps depict these walls humans tend to put up. Frontline “The Vaccine War’ will be analyzed in the concept of cognitive dissonance. Parents of children that were not given vaccines were persuaded by attitudes and beliefs that had questioned their harmony. There will always be a social issue no matter the topic. Frontline explains the issue of Disney World where a measles outbreak had taken place. Such an iconic place as Disney World suddenly being covered with disease is never taken lightly. The finger is then pointed at the non-vaccinated children forcing them to become the scapegoat. Some people are deciding not to vaccinate their children …show more content…
For example vaccine companies and government agencies are focused on polio. Polio back when they were growing up in the 20’s 30’s and 40’s they saw the damage that could happen and were instantly on board for the idea of vaccination. The MMR triple shot has caused the grown the “Generation Rescue” where 10’s of thousands of parents have written about brain damage in those children. The social problem isn’t resolved because the grown of the Internet gives people the power to knowledge. Knowledge is the most powerful tool and people are learning that there alternatives to vaccines. The Cognitive Dissonance Theory (CDT) was devised by Leon Festinger in his book “A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance”. To understand Festingers theory you need to understand the terms he defines. Dissonance is the lack of harmony of conflicting ideas. Cognition is thinking, reasoning and remembering. Cognitions are ideas, attitudes, beliefs, opinions and memories. As humans we don’t like friction if we could live in a world where there were no issues ever it would be ideal. But with society and different ideas consistently being made/altered people grow opinions and …show more content…
Without the scientific advances that were present in the early and mid 1900’s people were much more susceptible to illness and death. People were instantly sold on the idea of vaccines you could save a life from just a shot with the discomfort that ranged from minimum 1 hour to maximum 1 day. People don’t understand the concept of the polio outbreak. The dissonance that is shown from people not having vaccines done have never experienced it first hand. They simply just aren’t old enough to see what could potentially happen. Furthermore the majority of the medical industry isn’t even old enough to see the effects of what could happen without
They pose a real health concern to the public. Those that haven’t been vaccinated pose a risk to others that aren’t vaccinated, babies that are too young to vaccinate, and those with a weak immune system. The growing number of unvaccinated families has become a growing concern for physicians. The Chicago Tribune reported, “Almost all physicians encounter parents refusing vaccines, according to a recent study.”5 The study also reports, “A small number of pediatricians — about one in five — have turned away unvaccinated families from their practices, said Dr. Sean O 'Leary, an associate professor of pediatrics at Children 's Hospital Colorado and lead author of the study.”
In the Frontline episode The Vaccine War, a progressively distressful debate ensues among many scientists and doctors within the public health system and an unnerving alliance of parents, politicians, and celebrities. The topic of debate is the overwhelming pressure parents feel to vaccinate their children and their right to decline such vaccinations. In several American neighborhoods, groups of parents have been exercising their right to refuse vaccinations, which has elevated anxiety on the return of vaccine-preventable diseases such as pertussis and measles. The reason such parents are denying their children various vaccines such as the MMR “triple shot” for measles, mumps, and rubella is because they are convinced that it is linked to autism, a link that has yet to be proven. Many of these parents are focused solely on their children, not taking into account that their decision may put the American populace at risk for disease. Such parents are not thinking about other members of society that vaccines don’t work for, and in certain adolescents the effects deteriorate, thus only when every person is immunized the “heard immunity” is successful.
This becomes a social problem because if one child isn’t vaccinated and comes in contact with a person with a contagious disease, it will spread to other children who aren’t vaccinated. That will lead it to becoming an epidemic. The cause of this social problem is the time we are living, we live in an age where we can find anything, about anyone at a tap of a finger. The Internet has caused us look for other options versus the generation before us. The media content on vaccines is very large. There is always someone who will support your views – even half way around the world. The social problem is not resolved because people always will have a different method of thinking from the next person. It’s ingrained in us to have our own opinions.
My siblings and I have never received any vaccinations because my parents opted out of them. Up until second grade, I thought it was rare for people to get shots. I didn’t realize that vaccines were required to go to school and that I was in the minority. Now that I know this, I am meeting more people that aren’t vaccinated. For example, my next door neighbors have five children who aren’t vaccinated, and they homeschool. Similarly, my second cousins, have five children that homeschool and have not been vaccinated. This made me wonder if maybe not vaccinating a child fits into a view of life that includes homeschool and large families. Lastly, my sisters and I all had the Chickenpox when we were younger so I think we are immune to getting them again. I am curious whether beating the disease is better than just getting the vaccine.
19. Moran, Nicola E. et al., ‘From compulsory to voluntary immunisation: Italy’s National Vaccination Pland (2005-2007) and the ethical and organizational challenges facing public health policy-makers across Europe’, J Med Ethics, 34 (2008):
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...
This can be seen in the article Vaccine Controversies by Jane Lemons. “Public health officials say refusing to follow vaccine protocols allows diseases to spread rapidly as happened in December 2014 when a measles outbreak began at Disney Land and spread to seven states.” The measles outbreak from 2014 could have easily been avoided if all children who entered the park were indeed vaccinated. If the majority of children were vaccinated there would have been no possible way for the disease to spread. While it can't be denied, A lot of families do choose to vaccinate their children, there are still some who don't, this is seen in the article Vaccine Controversies by Jane Lemons. Although the vast majority of Americans continue to vaccinate their children, studies have found that as many as 1 in 10 parents are delaying or forgoing some or a; recommended vaccines for their children. Because some parents are delaying or forgoing all vaccinations more children are at risk of going under the influence of a fatal disease that could cut their lives too short. Fatal diseases have the ability to spread at unthinkable rates and vaccinations are used to combat these deadly diseases but if families refuse to vaccinate their children once fatal diseases could return at epidemic
The history of vaccinations does not begin with the first vaccination itself but rather an infectious disease that had greatly affected the human population. In 1796 Edward Jenner created a successful composition using cowpox material that created immunity to the ongoing growth of the small pox disease. Jenner’s method underwent 200 years of medical and technological changes until it had finally resulted in complete elimination of the smallpox disease. Vaccinations have been a controversial medical topic for many years and although it is proven to be an effective means of preventing serious effects, including fatalities from childhood illnesses the controversy remains that the side effects from the immunizations outweigh the risk of contracting the disease. According to the College of Physicians of Philadelphia they state that “innovative techniques now drive vaccine research, with recombinant DNA technology and new delivery techniques leading scientist in new directions. Disease targets have expanded, and some vaccine research is beginning to focus on non-infectious conditions, such as addictions and allergies” (“The History of Vaccines” College of Physicians of Philadelphia. Web. 10 January. 2014). While public health officials insist that vaccines are the best way to protect public health. Over the past thirty years the vaccination schedule has tripled and since then there has been an alarming rise in the infant mortality rate in America. The problem is not the vaccination itself, but the quality of the vaccination.
Cognitive dissonance can be described as the feeling of discomfort resulting from holding two conflicting beliefs. It can also be said to be the mental conflict that occurs when beliefs or assumptions are contradicted by new information. A well-known psychologist Leon Festinger (1919–89), introduced this concept in the late 1950s where he proved that, when confronted with challenging new information; most people are observed to preserve their current understanding of the world by rejecting or avoiding the new information or by convincing themselves that no conflict really exists in one way or the other (Festinger, 04).
In the text, “Vaccines Cause Children More Adverse Reactions Than Any other Drug”, the author Dr. Mercola states his personal opinion as well as other doctors opinions are findings to help his research. The authors’ purpose is to inform the reader how vaccines are causing adverse reactions around the world. The author uses ethos throughout the piece because everyone he speaks with is a doctor, as well as him. His ethos makes the piece very informational and helpful to a parent reading who is concerned about vaccinating their kids. Dr. Mercola uses pathos by explaining all the harm vaccinations are doing, such as serious reactions and death. The piece has many logos informing readers’ studies being done on vaccinations, “based on reported pediatric
Vaccines are said to be one of the greatest public health achievements in history. They date back to 1796, when Edward Jenner used cowpox material to create immunity to the smallpox disease. (Historyofvaccines.org 2014) Now over two-hundred years later they’ve helped dramatically reduce the instance of viral diseases in children. For example, old childhood diseases such as Polio, Smallpox, and Diptheria have either been completely eradicated or are rarely seen in the United States thanks to vaccines. However, in recent years we’ve seen a sharp increase in parents who opt out of having their children receive these life-saving immunizations. This is mostly due to accusations over different side effects and a link between vaccines and autism, which is causing this new trend known to most as “the Anti-Vaccine Movement.”(Ashbrook, 2014) A major side effect of this movement is the comeback of old world diseases. We are seeing a rise specifically in measles and pertussis mostly within states that have the lowest vaccination rates. (Raja, Mooney 2014) Even though we have proof of their effectiveness based on scientific research and statistics, there are still parents who refuse to have their children vaccinated, ultimately putting their health at risk and the health of others who are not well enough or old enough to be vaccinated. It is extremely important that we try to reach out to these people and educate them on why their children should be vaccinated, not only for their health but for overall health within our communities.
Cognitive dissonance looks at the way people combat contradictions within their minds by actively seeking consistency. For his theory, Festinger refers to cognition as thought/mental processes and dissonance as inconsistency. His famous example is that of an addicted smoker who knows that smoking is detrimental to his or her health and is thus in conflict with his or her self. The main hypothesis of Festinger’s theory is comprised of two parts; Festinger wrote about the first part of his theory that "The existence of dissonance, being psychologically uncomfortable, will motivate the person to try to reduce the dissonance and achieve consonance," and described the second "When dissonance is present, in addition to trying to reduce it, the person will actively avoid situations and information which would likely increase the dissonance" (Festinger, 1957). Festinger elaborates on the importance an individual places on reducing cognitive dissonance by discussing two essential factors: the value of the cognitions and the ratio of cognitions (Festinger, 1957). The former consists of the personal importance or value that the individual places on the opposing cognitions, resulting in either a minor or major dissonance. The latter consists of the proportion of the degre...
The current public health issue I have chosen is prescription drug and overdoses. This problem has been a growing epidemic over the years. Its effected in not just one state but the whole country and is the fastest growing drug problem in the United States. Our current president back in October, declared a 90-day opioid public health emergency. On January 29, 2018, the Economists published an article on this hot topic. According to the CDC in the year of 1999 the number of deaths caused by prescription drugs was 16,848 and risen to 63,632 deaths in 2016. According to a past study, they’ve discovered that with the decline of our countries economic conditions it has been showing an increase of use of pain reliever use and opioid abuse with the
Those who choose not to vaccinate their children are endangering the health of those unable to be vaccinated themselves, such as infants, pregnant people, and the immunocompromised, by jeopardizing community immunity. According to vaccine.gov, a federal government website managed by the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, community immunity or “herd immunity” occurs when “a critical portion of the community is immunized against a contagious disease, most members of the community are protected against that disease because there is little opportunity for an outbreak” (Community Immunity). An infographic featured in an NPR article entitled “How Vaccine Fears Fueled the Resurgence of Preventable Diseases” illustrated the rise in measles cases in Western Europe and of pertussis (whooping cough) cases in the U.S (Doucleff). In the first eight months of 2014, there were eighteen measles outbreaks, and six hundred cases of measles.
For innumerable centuries, unrelenting strains of disease have ravaged society. From the polio epidemic in the twentieth century to the measles cases in the latter half of the century, such an adverse component of nature has taken the lives of many. In 1796, Edward Jenner discovered that exposure to cowpox could foster immunity against smallpox; through injecting the cowpox into another person’s arm, he founded the revolutionary concept known as a vaccination. While many attribute the eradication of various diseases to vaccines, many United States citizens are progressively beginning to oppose them. Many deludedly thought that Measles had been completely terminated throughout the United States; however, many children have been patronized by