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Distraction, choice and self-esteem effects on cognitive response facilitation
1Department of Marketing, California State University, Northridge 91328-1280.
The British Journal of Social Psychology
|September 1, 1992
Summary
Distraction enhances cognitive responses in attitude change. High choice leads to more proarguing, while low choice leads to more counterarguing, especially for those with high self-esteem.
Area of Science:
- Social Psychology
- Cognitive Psychology
Background:
- Distraction-conflict theory explains arousal effects on performance.
- Cognitive dissonance theory addresses psychological discomfort from conflicting beliefs or behaviors.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how distraction influences cognitive responses (proarguing/counterarguing) under varying choice conditions.
- To examine the moderating role of self-esteem in distraction's effect on cognitive dissonance.
Main Methods:
- Participants engaged in behavior discrepant with their attitudes.
- Choice manipulation (high vs. low) and distraction were experimentally controlled.
- Cognitive responses (proarguing/counterarguing) were measured.
Main Results:
- Distraction facilitated proarguing in high-choice participants.
- Distraction facilitated counterarguing in low-choice participants.
- These effects were more pronounced in individuals with high self-esteem.
Conclusions:
- Dissonance-related processes are influenced by distraction at the cognitive response level.
- Distraction can facilitate, rather than disrupt, attitude-consistent cognitive responses.
- Self-esteem moderates the impact of distraction on cognitive dissonance reduction strategies.