Read the attachment on cigarette packaging from the U.S. and Canada. Warning: some of the images may be disturbing. Young Adults’ Perception of Cigarette Warning Labels in the U.S. and Canada

Re-read the section on cognitive dissonance theory in chapter 6 and consider the following scenario:

Alex uses tobacco on a daily basis. Her friends do not use tobacco, or have recently quit, and they really want Alex to break her dependency. In one of many efforts to get Alex to stop smoking, her friends show her the cigarette labels contained in the link. Consider how you might feel or react if you were Alex. Would you be upset and reject your friends’ efforts, upset but accepting of your friends’ efforts? Or might you experience a different emotional response that involves dissonance?
Write your response using cognitive dissonance theory.
Decide which dissonance reduction behavior Alex might engage in and explain your reason for choosing that one.
Next, apply the 3 necessary conditions for cognitive dissonance to this scenario and discuss how they apply.

Web Links

The National Academies Press Biographical Memoirs: Leon Festinger
https://www.nap.edu/read/4547/chapter/5#99

Cognitive Dissonance Theory & Conflict
https://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/cognitive_dissonance/