Cognitive Dissonance: The Effect of Self-Involvement on Attitude Change in Different Paradigms

The aim of this study was to investigate the role of justification and self-involvement in cognitive dissonance processes across Induced compliance and Free choice paradigms. Fifty seven students were selected using purposeful sampling among 262 undergraduate students of psychology at Shahid Beheshti University and in a quasi-experimental study with a between group-within group design were randomly assigned to 4 groups (1. High justification, self-involved 2. High justification, not self-involved 3. Low justification, self-involved 4. Low justification, not self-involved). All participants were assessed in both induced compliance and free choice paradigms. Rosenberg’s Self-Esteem Scale (1965) was used to assess and control the self-esteem variable, two attitude surveying scales were used for measuring attitude change in two paradigms. Mixed ANOVA was applied to analyze the collected data. Results showed that main effects of variables were significant and that there was an interaction between self-involvement, paradigm and justification in determining attitude change. Results showed no significant difference between the self-involved and the not self-involved groups in attitude change under the condition of free choice paradigm, but the not self-involved group changed their attitudes significantly more than the self-involved group under the Induced compliance paradigm which is controversial to the current theories about the effect of self in cognitive dissonance processes.