Cognitive Dissonance Theory Response Paper

“The engine that drives self-justification, the energy that produces the need to justify our actions and decisions—especially the wrong ones—is an unpleasant feeling the Festinger called “cognitive dissonance.” Cognitive dissonance is a state of tension that occurs when ever a person holds two cognitions (ideas, attitudes, beliefs, opinions) that are psychologically inconsistent, such as “Smoking is a dumb thing to do because it could kill me” and “I smoke two packs a day.” Dissonance produces mental discomfort, ranging from minor pangs to deep anguish.” (p.13)

I am fixing my hair, and humming along to a song I heard on the radio, when I hear the concert start. I heard the announcements begin and the lights go dim. There was people all around me. People tripped over cords or called out demands. Some had microscopic mics on their faces, some had been putting on makeup on.

I still remember seeing people lined up against a fence trying to enter, but the line was practically endless so those people who were already inside helped those outside get inside the event by helping them jump and take down the fence. At that point of the concert I realized that the true meaning of the event was for everyone, no matter what, race, age, background, and so forth to come forward in unity. After all, we could say that

First of all, I had a terrible experience during an Akon concert at the Laredo Entertainment Arena, when Akon called on all the people to come closer to the stage. I was practically trampled by people rushing down towards the stage, and then there was the fight between two teenage boys who initiated in throwing beer bottles. My brother insisted that I would have a wonderful

The idea is applicable in everyday life; we can use cognitive dissonance to help people make better decisions throughout the day. When we finish using the bathroom we often see a sign asking us to wash our hands to prevent disease and infection. When someone thinks to not wash their hands but sees the sign, they will experience cognitive dissonance. To get rid of this discomfort they will probably choose to wash their hands. Small interactions like these help better the world; by placing small changes like these in someone’s environment we can remind people of their morals and values.

As I was sitting in the audience, the first thing that I noticed was that the audience consisted of all ages, ranging from eighteen years of age to perhaps eighty years of age. In preparation for the concert to begin, several performers entered the room and tuned their instruments to the keys on the piano. The performers’ attire was highly conservative, covering almost every inch of their entire body, and they wore all black from head to toe. When the concert began, the audience clapped as the performers were introduced and were walking out onto the playing area. As the performers took their seats in front of their stands, the audience became quiet and there was a short moment of silence before the performance commenced.

The concert environment is different from those of musical performances such as jazz or hip-hop. When entering the auditorium the musicians are onstage warming up and preparing themselves for the performance. The audience members find seats suitable for their listening needs. The lights begin to dim signaling that the concert is about to begin. When the house lights are officially off the audience becomes silent and so does the performers onstage. Specific instruments play a single not at a time to make sure they are in tune with their fellow members. Once finished the conductor appears and the audience applauds. Many people did not know concert etiquette. Majority were dressed in street clothes, some were texting and others were talking. A few times during the performance people sitting in the front rows would leave there seats only to return a few minutes later. People also

I’m in love with music because it always seems to make my day go by better. Rap, recitals, jazz and classical concerts top in my music preferred list. My passion for music made me very excited about going the Columbus state musical concert held in the River Center of Performing Arts In the Legacy Room. The theatre is located in a nice location giving the audience a full range of sound and sight. The sounds are incredible and I really loved how I could hear everything. The stage can be seen from any place that one decides to stand on. For this particular concert, the venue was dimly lit. The concert staged was adorned by different musicians, with their amazing performances.. The audience could not help, but dance and sing along with the

We then walked round and started making friends. The other patrons were a mixture of a few in the corner who seemed more stuck up and as though they were looking down their noses and us and the people in the middle of the dance floor who didn’t have a care in the world and were thoroughly enjoying a good old boogie to some 'RnB '. Overall, the venue itself looked rather tired and

Overall throughout the show, there wasn’t any disturbance from the people in the bar that prevented the audience from enjoying the music played by the band. Unlike the first visit, there were a lot of people present during the second observation. There were around 60 people present at the bar when I arrived with the number gradually increasing up to 74 as the night progressed on. Around 55 percent of the total population consisted of male population while the rest 45 percent was covered by the female population in the bar. The population in the bar had diverse age groups with people in the age range from 20 to 35 years covering 50 percent of the general population followed by people of age range between 35 to 50 years covering 30 percent of the population and the rest 20 percent of the population consisted of people of age 50 years and older.

This is highlighted in in the text during an interview with and member David Johansen in which he states; “The audience there were pretty depraved, so we had to be in there with them. We couldn’t come out in a three piece suite and entertain that bunch. They wanted something more for their money.” (117,

A well-known fact about me is that I go to concerts on a semi-regular basis. In my experience I've encountered countless of different people at shows. There's a few different categories they all can fall under however: the drunk, the thirteen year old that probably shouldn't be at this show, the dad who's in the pit with the thirteen year old, the jerk dude that thinks he's "hardcore", the screaming girl, and the guy who's shoving everyone trying to get to the front.

It allows us to consider the act which we performed, and hopefully enables to make better choices in the future. I believe cognitive dissonance is a critical

Leon Festinger created the cognitive dissonance theory as an attempt to explain why people desire to have consistency between their behaviors and actions. Cognitive dissonance is the distressing mental state people feel when they find themselves doing things that don’t fit with what they know, or having opinions that do not fit with other opinions they hold (Festinger, 1957; as cited in Griffin, 2009). Thus, people are motivated to change either their behavior or their belief when feelings of dissonance arise.

Going to a concert is an experience incomparable to any other. Here it is, the moment, every concert goer has been waiting for, the artist coming onto the stage. Hearts begin to race as the music builds each fleeting second before the artist comes out. Smoke fills the dark stage illuminated by the band's tour video playing. Then, in the center of the stage, doors begin to open revealing four singing boys. Crying and screaming