“A learned predisposition to respond in a consistently favorable or unfavorable manner with respect to a given object,” (133, Kiniki & Fugate) stated that an attitude is as applies. Attitude in the work field is something that affects you every day. It reflects who you are as a person and who you are in a group of people. How you decide to be and act is how it is going to affect you. If you go into work with a negative attitude about your job then chances are you are going to find reasons not to do anything or even enjoy it, leading you to be nasty or rude to those around you who enjoy their job and the environment that they are in.
This doesn’t always have to be in the work place, but in everyday life. Back when discrimination was widely spread, it was common for people to discriminate against those of different ethnicities. Richard Lapiere did a study about this to see if the attitude of someone working would give negative behavior to the customer of a different culture. During this time period Asians were not a favorite of the American culture. Lapiere attended with an Asian couple “67 hotels and 184 restaurants,” (Simply Psychology) with a plan. They attended these places to see how Asians would be reacted to. They made it into every business and were treated like Lapiere, as if they were not discriminated against. With an idea in mind, 6 months after attending these places Lapiere sent in letters asking if they would serve and accept the guests.
Out of all the places visited they were denied at only one but when asked through a letter, 91% of the places said that they would not accept them as guests or customers (McLeod). Lapiere was curious and prove his theory that one’s attitude is not always responsible for their beha...
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...ssonance has been in play for years and has many people trying to figure it out. Leon Festinger found this theory by saying that many people hold many things in and do not release how they feel afraid of clashing thoughts. For example, is someone tells you to do something when you aren’t interested in it, friction is created making the dissonance appear… between what you did when you didn’t want to it appears. If you want that dissonance to be extinct then there are three ways; “change one or more of the attitudes, acquire new information, reduce the importance of cognitions,” (McLeod). With these steps a person can take initiative to use these routes to get rid of the dissonance without any harm or strain. Each of the ideas are meant to help but cannot guarantee that a person will stop feeling the way they do; they are meant to try and give them a push forward.
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 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).
Whether making a choice at the grocery store, deciding to end a relationship, or experiencing buyer’s remorse, cognitive dissonance is evidenced in every day events. As described by Festinger and in my personal illustration, a mental disharmony (cognitive dissonance) occurs when individuals experience a misalignment between their beliefs and behaviors, and reduction mechanisms are then utilized to reacquire cognitive coherence and reduce mental energy expended.
Debate on whether Asians are subjected to workplace discrimination based on their race has been raging on for years. The research findings on this issue have been varied. For instance, Cabezas and Kawaguchi (1988) showed that fore...
If dissonance is experienced it is almost always uncomfortable, so the individual is motivated to reduce it. This causes the individual to identify the magnitude of their discomfort and, it is possible to predict what we can do to reduce dissonance. There are three basic ways to reduce dissonance. First are changing cognitions, an example is if two cognitions don’t relate we can change one to make it relate to the other; or change each cognition in the direction of the other. The second is adding cognitions, if two cognitions cause a certain degree of dissonance, adding one or more cognitions can reduce the degree of dissonance. The third is altering importance, attempting to justify the behavior by adding new cognitions. Th...
Discrimination against people due to their color has always been recognized in the workforce and has been dealt with accordingly by the law. It used to be the most well-known form of discrimination within the workforce. Today most companies have begun stating that they adhere to the law of equal employment opportunities for everyone, but them stating it is completely different to them actually practicing what they preach. For example, there is one ethnic group who companies have begun discriminating against since the attack of 911 on the twin towers. Muslims have been singled out as the bad guys by many, thus they have been treated as such. There was a case in which Ali Aboubaker, 56, was bullied and discriminated against at work due to his religion, race, and most importantly appearance. He kept a long beard that was long and unkempt, which resembled those worn by men from Afghanistan. The company seemed to forget that Ali had four college degrees and only seemed to pay attention to his physical demeanor. At times it was even noted that his coworkers called him a terrorist in front of his manager, and they were never reprimanded for it. Due to his appea...
reduce it. However, it is not an easy state to reduce. Dissonance can be eliminated by reducing
Discrimination in the workplace occurs when an employee experiences harsh or unfair treatment due to their race, religion, national origin, disabled or veteran status, or other legally protected characteristics. Discrimination is one of the biggest problems people face in the workplace and it must be dealt with forcefully.
In an ideal world, every person is treated equally when it comes to getting a job, advancing in his or her career and being treated fairly in the workplace. Unfortunately, discrimination still exists in hiring, firing and promotions; and the diversity of the workforce regrettably can cause hostility in the workplace when individuals do not appreciate and respect the differences among themselves and their co-workers.
People are very revealing in character, sometimes intentionally, however most of the time unintentionally. Everything about a person reveals some aspect of their character, their preference; their actions are just as much a part of them as their knowledge and skills. In management, specifically, someone who wants to be a manager that leads, to recognize the differences of his or her employees. Each person is unique; these differences range from appearance to skill. Awareness of these differences allows a company or organization to use them to better their business.
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...
America is known as the land of the free where every immigrant wants to come to make a life for themselves and their family. An ethnically diverse workplace is very common due to equal rights and minorities are now given the same chance as white people. Since this country is made up of many diverse communities, it is impossible to walk down the street without seeing someone that has a different ethnicity than yourself. In the workplace it is very common to have co-workers that are of a different ethnic background than yourself as well. I believe that it is a huge benefit to work with people from a different ethnic background. I have been able to open my eyes and relate with people that are not white. I have learned many things about people with different ethnic background, such as their morals, work ethics, and personalities. Some people are still close minded about the idea of working with a person of a different race; I believe that is ridicules considering the amount of people of different races in America today. Sooner or later you will have to work with people of different races, so why not make it sooner? ?Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, originally passed in 1964, outlines the groups employers are prohibited from discriminating against. The law includes race, gender, age, national origin and disability status among the underrepresented classifications -- but it does not include sexual orientation? (Velez, 2004).
Cognitive dissonance theory by Leon Festinger (1957) has provided me with a theoretical orientation that has assisted me in understanding the “psychological discomfort” experienced when some beliefs are incongruent with behaviors. As I understand it from my readings, cognitive dissonance refers to any situation involving conflicting attitudes, beliefs, or behaviors. This conflict produces feelings of discomfort leading to attempts to change or modify the attitudes, beliefs or behaviors involved in order to reduce the discomfort and to restore balance, which suggests that people, in general, have an inner drive or need to have all their attitudes and beliefs in harmony and, thus, avoid disharmony, i.e., dissonance. In other words, people seek
Organizational behavior is important to many organizations because it helps management understand their employees’ attitude as well as behavior while they interact with one and other at the work place. There are several aspects of organizational behavior and attitude is one that can hinder and help job performance. In the past, organizations were defined almost exclusively by the products produced or the services provided. This has changed a great deal over the years. They are now defined by the way they provide their products and services. Attitude plays a major role in and outside of the workplace as it does in most aspects in everyday life.