Cognitive Dissonance Theory
Cognitive dissonance often feels like an inner battle: you believe one thing but act in a way that goes against that belief, or you believe two things that are at odds with each other and have to figure out how to make your mind work again. (2) However, the dissonance could also be caused by outside forces like advertising, marketing, or public relations.
That’s because these businesses’ main job is to change the way people like you think and act. (2) Whether you like it or not, media or marketing has probably caused you to experience cognitive dissonance, you might not have known it.
People who run ads try to make you feel like your life is incomplete without their product or service. A lot of people use cognitive dissonance to show how the idealised version of you and the real you don’t match up. You feel dissonance because you want to see yourself in that perfect way, but you don’t always use that service or product.
Matt Johnson, PhD, professor and associate dean at Hult International Business School in San Francisco, says, “Marketers and advertisers use it all the time.” “A lot of ads are set up to make it clear that you’re only cool, beautiful, worthy, or some other good thing if you have this product or service.”
Think about an ad for shampoo. The wind blows through the hair of a pretty woman. She looks beautiful, happy, and healthy. The main idea is that if you use the same shampoo she does, you can also look beautiful, happy, and healthy. You feel dissonance because you want to look and feel beautiful, healthy, and happy, but you don’t always use that shampoo.
Johnson tells you that as a consumer, you have a few choices. The claim can be completely turned down (which is what very strong-minded people do, Johnson says). You can get rid of the dissonance by either getting the message and changing how you act, which means you buy the shampoo. You can also get rid of the dissonance by changing your beliefs and accepting the message. Jones says that if you don’t use that product, you might start to think that you’re not as pretty and healthy.
Johnson says, “You can change your original belief system or get rid of the cognitive dissonance by buying what they’re selling.” Of course, the advertiser wants you to do the second thing. And if you pick the first option, your self-esteem is likely to drop because you’ll have to admit that you don’t have these good qualities.
When being cognitively dissonant makes you behave well
However, ads and public relations can also get people to behave well. According to Johnson, an ad might be trying to get you to buy a good or service that will be good for your health in the long run. It might be a good idea to get some exercise equipment that is good for your heart or switch to a deodorant that doesn’t contain any chemicals. Recycling has become “cool” thanks to public relations campaigns.
Johnson says that using cognitive dissonance in communication can also get people to do good things.
However, Johnson says that if you’re constantly seeing ads that make you question your actions or beliefs, you’ll feel stressed because you’ll have to keep resolving these internal conflicts. “If you have to deal with ads all the time, it can cause long-term stress, which is bad.” Long-term stress can weaken your immune system, cause heart disease, or change the way your brain works.
When you use generic advertising, you’re not promoting a specific brand name, but a general product. Campaigns like this have been made for everything from fresh milk to gems. In this kind of advertising, brand names aren’t mentioned specifically. Instead, the goal is to get people to support the product as a whole.