The theory of cognitive dissonance has had profound impact on research in social psychology, Its influence goes beyond that field, however. The theory has, for example, also figured in the design of interventions to address a variety of societal problems. The chapter offers an overview of the empirical literature on dissonance theory, beginning with Festinger’s (1957) classic definition. The authors cover the most important paradigms used in empirical dissonance research and summarize the most prominent empirical results. They explain the main features of the self-based revision of dissonance theory and introduce their own self-based modification of dissonance theory, including related data on ego-depletion and selective exposure. They conclude by outlining directions for future dissonance research, particularly on self-regulation and information-processing, and discuss the application of dissonance theory to societal problems.
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Fischer, P., Frey, D., Peus, C., Kastenmüller, A. (2008). The Theory of Cognitive Dissonance: State of the Science and Directions for Future Research. In: Meusburger, P., Welker, M., Wunder, E. (eds) Clashes of Knowledge. Knowledge and Space, vol 1. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-5555-3_11
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