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Cognitive Consistency Theory in Social Psychology: A Paradigm Reconsidered

Year: 2018

Type: article

Abstract: From the 1950s onward, psychologists have generally assumed that people possess a general need for cognitive consistency, whose frustration by an inconsistency elicits negative affect. We offer a novel perspective on this issue by introducing the distinction between epistemic and motivational impact of consistent and inconsistent cognitions. The epistemic aspect is represented by the updated expectancy of the outcome addressed in such cognitions. The motivational aspect stems from value (desirability) of that outcome. We show that neither the outcome’s value nor its updated expectancy is systematically related to cognitive consistency or inconsistency. Consequently, we question consistency’s role in the driving of affective responses and the related presumption of a universal human need for cognitive consistency.

Source: Psychological Inquiry

DOI: 10.1080/1047840x.2018.1480619

Authors: Arie W. Kruglanski, Katarzyna Jasko, Maxim Milyavsky, Marina Chernikova, David Webber, Antonio Pierro, Daniela di Santo

Institutions: University of Maryland, College Park, Jagiellonian University, Virginia Commonwealth University, Sapienza University of Rome

Language: English

Topic: Social and Intergroup Psychology

Subfield: Sociology and Political Science

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: green

OpenAlex ID: W2896323951

FWCI: 18.78

Cites: 102

Cited by: 121

Related to: 10