Cognitive Dissonance Theory and Tests

Cognitive Dissonance: 50 Years of a Classic Theory (Google eBook)
Joel Cooper
SAGE, 27-Mar-2007 - Psychology - 216 pages
In marking the 50th anniversary of the theory's inception, Joel Cooper - arguably the scholar most associated with dissonance research in the past few decades - has presented a beautiful, modern and comprehensive analysis of the state of dissonance theory. This book charts the progress of dissonance theory, assessing its impact not only within our understanding of psychology but in everyday experiences as well. It should be important reading for students in social psychology, either undergraduate or graduate, but equally relevant to a host of other readers who need to understand or share the same passions for appreciating the significance of cognitive dissonance in the human psyche.
Google Book link with preview facility
http://books.google.co.in/books?id=ztSKhudXJCYC


Perspectives on Cognitive Dissonance (Google eBook)
R. A. Wicklund, J. W. Brehm
Psychology Press, 15-Apr-2013 - Psychology - 348 pages
Published in 1976, Perspectives on Cognitive Dissonance is a valuable contribution to the field of Social Psychology.
Google Book link with preview facility
http://books.google.co.in/books?id=Od8JW0fDfs0C


The Theory of Cognitive Dissonance and Experimental Research
Oshikawa, Sadaomi
November 1968
SOURCEJournal of Marketing Research (JMR);Nov68, Vol. 5 Issue 4, p429


COGNITIVE DISSONANCE: FIVE YEARS LATER *
NATALIA P. CHAPANIS AND ALPHONSE CHAPANIS
Johns Hopkins University
Psychological Bulletin, VOL. 61, No. 1 JANUARY 1964, Pp. 1-22
This article reviews critically the experimental evidence in support of
cognitive dissonance theory as applied to complex social events. The
criticisms which can be made of this literature fall into 2 main classes.
1st, the experimental manipulations are usually so complex and the
crucial variables so confounded that no valid conclusions can be drawn
from the data. 2nd, a number of fundamental methodological inadequacies in the analysis of results—as, e.g., rejection of cases and faulty
statistical analysis of the data—vitiate the findings. As a result, one
can only say that the evidence adduced for cognitive dissonance theory
is inconclusive. Suggestions are offered for the methodological improvement of studies in this area. The review concludes with the thesis that
the most attractive feature of cognitive dissonance theory, its simplicity,
is in actual fact a self-defeating limitation.