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Are depressed individuals more susceptible to cognitive dissonance?
Abstract
Compared to nondepressed individuals, depressed individuals generally show more guilt, more indecisiveness, and less ability to trivialize negative events, each of which predicts greater susceptibility to cognitive dissonance manipulations. Thus, depressed individuals may be more prone to dissonance effects. This study tested this depression-dissonance question using a roleplaying hypocrisy-induction paradigm in which high- and low-depressed participants read about others who behaved inconsistently with their own ideals to high or low degree. Only highdepressed (and not low-depressed) participants showed the dissonance effect, that is, only highdepressed participants' feelings of discomfort rose from low- to high-inconsistency conditions. Implications are discussed for psychotherapy.
... Indeed, Stalder et al (2014) reason that individuals with depression may be more sensitive to dissonance induction than non-depressed individuals. In their study, the authors reason that depressed individuals tend to show more guilt, more indecisiveness, and less ability to trivialize negative events, each of which is predictive of elevated feelings of dissonance. ...
... High-depressed participants were also less able to trivialise. Quantitative study, Questionnaire-based data collection, CES-D, BMI, Story compositions (Stalder, 2010), Discomfort measure (Stalder et al, 2014), Trivialisation measure (Stalder et al, 2014) Three-way Analysis of variance (3-way ANOVA -Story X Inconsistency X Depression) Patients with the best therapeutic outcome showed a significant reduction in self-identity related conflicts (implicative dilemmas) Mixed methods study, Questionnaire based data: BDI (Beck Depression Inventory), RGT (Repertory Grid Technique), Interview based data: SCID-I (Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis 1), 'Client Change Interview', Innovative Moments Coding System'. ...
... High-depressed participants were also less able to trivialise. Quantitative study, Questionnaire-based data collection, CES-D, BMI, Story compositions (Stalder, 2010), Discomfort measure (Stalder et al, 2014), Trivialisation measure (Stalder et al, 2014) Three-way Analysis of variance (3-way ANOVA -Story X Inconsistency X Depression) Patients with the best therapeutic outcome showed a significant reduction in self-identity related conflicts (implicative dilemmas) Mixed methods study, Questionnaire based data: BDI (Beck Depression Inventory), RGT (Repertory Grid Technique), Interview based data: SCID-I (Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis 1), 'Client Change Interview', Innovative Moments Coding System'. ...
Depression is a debilitating mental health problem in which inner conflict plays a major role. How a person experiences and resolves inner conflict has been well developed in cognitive dissonance theory. The use of dissonance theory has remained mostly limited to the field of social psychology and the link between depression and dissonance theory is largely unexplored. By researching the application of cognitive dissonance theory to experiences of individuals with depression it may be possible to expand our understanding of depression. The overall aim of this study was to explore how the process of depression might be related to the mechanism of cognitive dissonance. The objectives of the study were: to identify and compare episodes of cognitive dissonance in two participant groups (depressed and nondepressed), to analyse how different elements of cognitive dissonance are experienced by participants, and finally to develop a conceptual model that illustrates the potential relationship between depression and dissonance.
... The stage of ongoing processing of incongruence described above could be identified as preoccupation. Festinger (1962) as well as Stalder and Anderson (2014) point out that every person experiences CD and that only a high amount of CD is critical for mental health. If a certain threshold of CD is crucial, this might also mean that the amount of preoccupation is relevant in determining if it is pathological or not. ...
In the ICD‐11 diagnostic guidelines, preoccupation has been introduced as the new core symptom of adjustment disorder. Despite this essential innovation, preoccupation has so far largely been defined as rumination and worry and does not feature a distinct character as an independent symptom. In order to investigate the nature of preoccupation, various cognitive approaches are evaluated and linked to preoccupation. Furthermore, the aim of this review is to define preoccupation more precisely and to distinguish it from other symptoms in psychopathology. The evaluation of key features of cognitive dissonance theory, attention bias theory, memory theories, and other cognitive paradigms indicates that preoccupation is constituted by a complex interaction of cognitive‐emotional mechanisms. In addition, this review implies that preoccupation in AjD can be defined as stressor‐related factual thinking, which is time consuming and often associated with negative emotions. It is assumed that rumination and dysfunctional worry serve as reactive processes to cope with preoccupation. For further distinction, this review presents similarities and differences of preoccupation and other symptoms, including negative automatic thoughts, flashbacks, and yearning. Finally, implications and suggestions for future research on preoccupation are offered. Overall, it is plausible that preoccupation is not only associated with adjustment disorder, but possesses a transdiagnostic character.
... However, under such pandemic-specific context and increasing uncertainties, there was always irrational dissonance between individuals' attitudes and behaviors, literally cognitive dissonance. While most existing studies examined the associations between cognitive dissonance and chronic psychopathologies (Prinstein and Aikins, 2004;Stalder and Anderson, 2014), this study reveals that such dissonance is associated with an elevated level of acute PTSS. However, no significant correlation was found for cognitive dissonance with PTG, which is inconsistent with a prior study (Occhipinti et al., 2015). ...
The COVID-19 pandemic is associated with Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms (PTSS) and self-reported Posttraumatic Growth (PTG) in the general population. This study used linear regressions for analyses, based on an online survey conducted during the COVID-19 lockdown among 2441 Chinese adults in February 2020. The results showed negative coping and attributing responsibilities to individuals were associated with more PTSS, while both positive and negative coping, as well as attributing responsibilities to individuals were related to more PTG. Moreover, attribution of responsibilities modified the association between coping and PTSS, but not PTG. These findings shed light on mental health interventions in a pandemic context.
Undergraduates age 18 to 24 years (n=656) completed questionnaires assessing tobacco use, depressive symptoms, coping responses, weight concerns, and exercise. The majority of participants were female (72%), White/non-Hispanic (95%), and in the 1st or 2nd year of college (80%). Current tobacco users (n=236) had a higher frequency of depression (40%) than never tobacco users (32%; p=.05). Tobacco users classified as depressed (Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale [CES-D] score a 16) reported greater weight concerns and more frequent maladaptive coping in response to negative mood than tobacco users classified as nondepressed (CES-D score<16). Multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that higher maladaptive coping and lower level of exercise were significantly associated with depression among tobacco users.
High or low self-esteem individuals participated in a role-playing paradigm in which a friend stood them up for a dinner date. The participants received either a good explanation from the friend for the missed date (sufficient justification) or a poor explanation (insufficient justification). As predicted by self-affirmation theory (Steele, 1988), but not self-consistency theory (Aronson, 1999), low-esteem participants derogated the friend more than high-esteem participants under both insufficient and sufficient justification. Also supporting self-affirmation theory, sufficient/low-esteem participants reported more offense for being stood-up than sufficient/high-esteem participants. Discussion centers on the role of self-esteem in dissonance processes and on the need for more research that focuses on dissonance/self-threats that result from the behavior of other(s) rather than one’s own behavior.
Efficacy trials found that a dissonance-based eating disorder prevention program in which female high school and college students with body image concerns critique the thin ideal reduced eating disorder risk factors, eating disorder symptoms, and future eating disorder onset. The present effectiveness trial tested whether this program produces effects through long-term follow-up when high school clinicians recruit students and deliver the intervention under real-world conditions.
Female high school students with body image concerns (N = 306; M age = 15.7 years, SD = 1.1) were randomized to the dissonance intervention or an educational brochure control condition and completed assessments through 3-year follow-up.
Dissonance participants showed significantly greater decreases in body dissatisfaction at 2-year follow-up and eating disorder symptoms at 3-year follow-up than controls; effects on other risk factors, risk for eating disorder onset, and other outcomes (e.g., body mass) were marginal or nonsignificant.
Although it was encouraging that some key effects persisted over long-term follow-up, effects were on average smaller in this effectiveness trial than previous efficacy trials, which could be due to (a) facilitator selection, training, and supervision; (b) the lower risk status of participants; or (c) the use of a control condition that produces some effects.
The complexity of one's attributional schemas was predicted to attenuate dissonance-produced attitude change after one writes a counterattitudinal essay (favoring yearly tuition increases). In both Experiments 1 and 2, participants high on attributional complexity (AC) exhibited less of a dissonance (choice) effect than those low on AC. The proposed explanation that AC allows for better external justification of a dissonant act was supported in Experiment 2, in which participants listed their reasons for writing the counterattitudinal essay. No support was found for the views that high-AC participants reduce dissonance through "trivialization" or that high-AC participants are more tolerant of dissonance than low-AC participants. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
It is proposed that dissonance is similar to the feeling of guilt. If they are in fact analogous, and confession relieves
guilt, then one implication is that confession would relieve dissonance. This experiment tested this prediction using a standard
induced compliance paradigm. Forty-five undergraduate subjects were assigned to either a no-choice condition, a choice-confession
condition, or a choice-no-confession condition. The results indicate that confession does relieve dissonance. Further, as
predicted, a negative correlation was found between attitudinal shift and guilt. The implications of the findings concerning
the mechanisms of confession are discussed.