It did not mean anything (about me)

Cognitive dissonance theory and the cognitive and affective consequences of romantic infidelity

Dados Bibliográficos

ID2931368
AutoresJoshua D Foster (0000-0001-6391-1627, University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL, USA, autor correspondente), Tiffany A Misra (University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL, USA)
Ano2013
Volume30
Fascículo7
Páginas835-857
Data de publicação2013-11-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoJournal of Social and Personal Relationships (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0265-4075 • E-ISSN: 1460-3608
EditoraSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/0265407512472324
OpenAlexW2123454311
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas12
Referências citadas47

Perpetrating romantic infidelity is discrepant with how most individuals see themselves and theoretically should produce cognitive dissonance. Accordingly, perpetrators of infidelity should experience symptoms of dissonance (e.g. self-concept discrepancy, psychological discomfort, poor affect) and employ tactics that reduce these symptoms (e.g. trivialization). These hypotheses were tested in four experiments. In each experiment, participants were given bogus feedback indicating that they had acted either faithfully or unfaithfully during a prior romantic relationship (this manipulation was evaluated in experiment 1). Participants who received unfaithful feedback reported higher levels of self-concept discrepancy, psychological discomfort, and poor affect (experiments 2 and 4) and trivialized to a greater extent the importance of their ostensive infidelities (experiments 3 and 4). Experiment 4 further showed that trivialization significantly reduced self-concept discrepancy and psychological discomfort but not poor affect. These results are generally consistent with the view that infidelity is a dissonance arousing behavior and that perpetrators of infidelity respond in ways that reduce cognitive dissonance

Affect (linguistics · Cognition · Cognitive dissonance · Psychoanalysis · Romance · Behavioral Health and Interventions · Communication · Cultural Differences and Values · Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior · Psychology · Social Psychology