Cognitive Dissonance

Cognitive dissonance is the mental discomfort, or disharmony, of your mind that is induced by two conflicting behaviors, attitude, opinion, and belief. (Cherry, 2020). Festinger’s theory of cognitive dissonance suggests that we all have a need to keep our attitudes and beliefs balanced and consistent to avoid unpleasant feelings of dissonance. An example of this is when you are thinking about doing something, but you have these conflicting thoughts, and you try to justify why you made this decision to do this, such as making a big purchase, traveling during this time, etc. Sometimes, this situation can cause anxiety or stress because you have multiple thoughts that conflict with each other.

When working in a car sales job, a caring salesperson would try to do what they can to reduce dissonance or buyer’s remorse. Doing this would create a long-lasting relationship and increase the chances of them becoming repeat customers. I believe that being honest and upfront with the customers can help decrease dissonance. When a buyer feels good and confident that they are purchasing the car they want and for a good price, they will have a low chance of dissonance occurring (Sharifi & Esfidani, 2014). I    recently was in the car buying search, and my husband and I went to multiple dealerships to see what was best for us. There were moments when we were at a dealership where we felt that the car salesman was trying too hard to create that relationship. When we finally found a car that we loved and was a complete upgrade from what we had before, we certainly didn’t think about having buyer’s remorse.

References

Festinger, L. (1961). The psychological effects of insufficient rewards. American Psychologist, 16(1), 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0045112

Sharifi, S. S., & Esfidani, M. R. (2014). The impacts of relationship marketing on cognitive dissonance, satisfaction, and loyalty mediating the role of trust and cognitive

Dissonance. International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, 42(6), 553-575. doi:10.1108/IJRDM-05-2013-0109

Cherry, K. (2020, June 2). Cognitive Dissonance and Ways to Resolve It. Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-cognitive-dissonance-2795012

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3-1 Discussion: Cognitive Dissonance

What is cognitive dissonance? What role does it play in regard to attitude and/or behavior change? What is the role of external rewards in regard to an attitude change?

Cognitive Dissonance

How might a new car salesperson use what he/she knows about cognitive dissonance (sometimes called buyer’s remorse) to make a customer more content with their purchase (and less likely to want to return their vehicle)?