Festinger's theory of cognitive dissonance

What happened

Leon Festinger published A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance in 1957. The theory says that cognitions which do not fit together create tension, and people try to reduce it. Two early tests are covered here: Jack Brehm's 1956 experiment on choosing between household products, and a participant-observation study of a small group whose central figure received messages predicting a flood on 21 December.

The psychological idea

Brehm applied the theory to choices. Information favouring the chosen option is consonant with the choice, information favouring the rejected option is dissonant, and the pressure to reduce dissonance should grow as the two options get closer in value. In his design, 225 female Minnesota students rated eight manufactured articles, chose one of two as payment, then rated all items again. They were told it was consumer research for manufacturers.

In practice

No company use of the theory is documented in these studies. After choosing between close alternatives, the rejected item's rating fell, after correction for regression, by 0.66 points (no new information) and 0.41 points (new information), both significant. A control group given an item without choosing showed no change, so ownership did not explain the gain. Added information about the items did not clearly increase the effect.

Why it mattered

Brehm argued that some of his data fitted dissonance theory but not a conflict-avoidance account. The rate, choose, rate-again design became the free-choice paradigm, which Izuma and Murayama describe as used for 50 years. Readings of this work as an explanation of post-purchase justification by shoppers are interpretation and were not tested here.

Evidence behind the claims

• Brehm's subjects were 225 female University of Minnesota students who rated eight manufactured articles, chose one of two, and rated all again; they were told the task was consumer research contract work for manufacturers, and the experiment was fully explained afterward.

  Experimental findingSource: [1]Where: Method, Design and Procedure (pp. 384-385)

• Brehm derived from Festinger's theory that choosing creates dissonance and pressure to reduce it, that information favouring the chosen option is consonant and information favouring the unchosen option is dissonant, and that dissonance is greater the closer the alternatives are in desirability.

  DocumentedSource: [1]Where: Introduction (p. 384)

• In the high-dissonance groups the corrected rating change for the rejected item was minus 0.66 without new information and minus 0.41 with new information, both significant.

  Experimental findingSource: [1]Where: Table 1 (p. 386) and discussion (p. 387)

• The gift control group showed a corrected change of 0.00 and Brehm concluded none of the gain for the chosen item was due to ownership; the prediction that new information would aid dissonance reduction did not receive clear support, he said some data fitted dissonance theory but not conflict theory, and 48 subjects who chose the object they had initially rated lower were eliminated.

  Experimental findingSource: [1]Where: Table 1, p. 385 note, pp. 387 and 389 (Summary and Conclusions)

• Izuma and Murayama report that Chen and Risen (2010) identified a methodological flaw in the free-choice paradigm, which has been used for 50 years, show by simulation that the paradigm can yield dissonance-like preference change when true preferences never change, and conclude that past findings should be empirically re-established.

  ContestedSource: [3]Where: Abstract and the section on Chen and Risen (2010)

• The When Prophecy Fails study followed a group whose central figure, called Mrs Marian Keech of Lake City, said she received messages foretelling a flood on 21 December; the foreword says names and places were changed, and the three authors joined the group as participants.

  DocumentedSource: [2]Where: Foreword, Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 (first part of the text only)Checked at page level

• A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance by Festinger was published by Stanford University Press in 1957, and the free-choice literature cites it as the source of dissonance theory and the traditional explanation for choice-induced preference change.

  DocumentedSource: [3]Where: Reference list and introduction

People involved

• Leon Festinger. Social psychologist, author of the theory
• Jack Brehm. Author of the 1956 free-choice experiment
• Keise Izuma. Co-author of the 2013 methodological review
• Kou Murayama. Co-author of the 2013 methodological review

In the Psy101 course

• OpenStax Psychology 2e, section 12.3: Attitudes and PersuasionChapter 12, Social Psychology. Concept. The section discusses this topic.Opened the page: it presents Festinger's 1957 cognitive dissonance theory and ways of reducing dissonance, though not Brehm by name.

This is course relevance only. It is not evidence for the historical or corporate claims on this page.See the full course map.

Sources and inspection

3 of 3 sources were opened and read at the level shown. A source marked as not verified supports no claim on this page by itself.

1. [1]
   Postdecision changes in the desirability of alternativesBrehm, J. W.. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 52, 384-389, 1956. Journal article. Primary source.Relevant text checkedReviewer read all six pages of the scanned PDF: introduction, method, Tables 1 and 2, results and summary. Copy hosted on a university course site.
2. [2]
   When Prophecy FailsFestinger, L.; Riecken, H. W.; Schachter, S.. University of Minnesota Press (Internet Archive copy), 1956. Book. Primary source.Archive page readReviewer read the opening of the Internet Archive text as returned by the fetch tool (roughly the first 100,000 of about 569,000 characters: foreword, chapter 1 and the start of chapter 2). The group's reaction after 21 December was not read, so no claim rests on it.
3. [3]
   Choice-Induced Preference Change in the Free-Choice Paradigm: A Critical Methodological ReviewIzuma, K.; Murayama, K.. Frontiers in Psychology, 4, 41, 2013. Journal article. Critique or replication.Relevant text checkedReviewer read roughly the first 100,000 of about 132,000 characters of the open-access article as returned by the fetch tool, including the abstract and the account of Chen and Risen (2010), and a later section containing the reference list. The final part was not read.

Access note: Chen and Risen 2010 itself and the 1957 book text were not opened. The group's response to the failed prediction in When Prophecy Fails was not read and is not stated.

Independent source review: Claude review agent, independent of the research agent, 2026-10-21. Verdict: pass-with-edits.

Related records and elsewhere on Psy101

• The Yale persuasion studies and Communication and Persuasion
• The Elaboration Likelihood Model
• Cialdini's Influence and the principles of persuasion

• Psy101 People: Leon Festinger