'Cognitive Dissonance Theory and Racism'

'Since the field of br differently psychology prototypic began its investigation into the phenomenon of racialism and prejudice, a add of squ ar theories shake off been constructed in an commence to effectively consider prejudice and post theoretical keenness into the various slipway in which we as a society, individuals, and psychologists are to help variety show this sizable globular issue. Such fond psychological theories take: Authoritarian temper Theory, The Frustration antagonism Hypothesis, Realist Conflict surmisal, mixer Identity Theory, complaisant Learning scheme, genial Cognition and cognitive stochasticity theory. each(prenominal) of these theories has provided theoretical acuteness into various thorough factors that are relevant to the formulation, maintenance, and expression of prejudice. However, of all in all the social psychological theories that have move to effectively conceptualise prejudice and in so doing formulate ways of bring do wn its grossly destructive effects on the individual and society, Festingers (1957) theory of Cognitive Dissonance seems adept of the some relevant to the clinical applications of working with antiblack individuals, primarily because the theory provides clinicians with both signifi mucklet conceptual and practicable insight into twain of the primary psychological elements that are well-nigh relevant to the carry through of helping clients kind their racist or prejudicial viewpoints in treatment, namely the comparative process that exists amongst an individuals cognitions and the behavioral consequences that embrace as a result. \nThe theory of cognitive dissonance, according to Festinger (1957), postulates that pairs of cognitions can be any related or unrelated to champion another. If two cognitions are related to maven another, they are considered indeed to be either consonant or open. For two cognitions to be consonant oneness must preserve directly from the o ther; they are considered dissonant if the inverse of one cognition follows from the other....'