COGNITIVE DISSONANCE: WHAT MOTIVATES SMOKERS TO KEEP SMOKING?

Cognitive Dissonance: How Does Addiction Control Smokers? Raphael Bernstein Psychology 109 Larry Rudiger April 21, 2014

COGNITIVE DISSONANCE: WHAT MOTIVATES SMOKERS TO KEEP SMOKING?

Abstract The reason that smokers continue to smoke regardless of knowing the consequences is a fascinating concept that has puzzled psychologists and people alike for decades. What strategies do smokers use in order to continue their state of denial? In this paper I will go into detail about the different ways that smokers are affected. I will also go into how they are motivated to continue smoking even after presented with information about its negative effects. I will analyze different studies used to assess cognitive dissonance in smokers and look at the literature that is currently in the field to paint a clear picture of what is driving this element of human nature.

COGNITIVE DISSONANCE: WHAT MOTIVATES SMOKERS TO KEEP SMOKING?

Cognitive Dissonance: What Motivates Smokers To Keep Smoking? Since the publication of Festingers theory of cognitive dissonance, the state of having inconsistent thoughts, beliefs, or attitudes as relating to behavioral decisions and attitude change. A significant number of researches have demonstrated the relationship of the theory to a wide range of phenomena. The circumstances under which dissonance reduction will take place and the factors determining the method used to reduce dissonance have been less well defined and inadequately investigated. Cigarette smokers particularly are a very interesting group when studying this theory of dissonance and how they use dissonance reduction strategies.

Cognitive Dissonance

When a cigarette smoker is confronted with information that his or her actions are most definitely harmful to their health, dissonance is created between this cognition and the idea that he will continue to smoke. Steps for a person to reduce dissonance could include termination of smoking, avoidance of information supporting any relationship with cancer or other negative diseases that can result, and also minimization of the importance of the specific issue. Festinger, in 1956, found more people smoked the more they refused to accept information, which would have been dissonant with smoking. Cigarette smokers are more interested in information that proves their side to make their actions in line with their morals and values. For example a person experiencing cognitive dissonance is most likely to experience confirmation bias in which that person can only accept information regarding his or her position and will disregard all information that opposes their viewpoint. In essence, they are choosing which information to hold on to and are blocking

COGNITIVE DISSONANCE: WHAT MOTIVATES SMOKERS TO KEEP SMOKING?

out everything else. In this paper I will directly look the motivational drive behind smoking and explain the major determinants of what makes smokers continue their actions as a result of habit.

Procedures and Tests Smokers attended cessation clinics where conducted research upon the reasons for why they smoke. When asked if they would like to quit most people indicated that they would. (USDHHS, 1989). However in trying to quit they are likely to experience dissonance arousal in a number of different ways that result in failed attempts, three or move on average (Carmody 1993). The frequency of smoking relapse has lead psychologists to invest time in learning why smokers who have been able to quit have trouble maintaining self-control. (Brownell, Marlatt, Lichtenstein, & Wilson, 1986). This study focused on the impact of relapse on smokers cognitions by understanding how prior attempts would influence future results at quitting. The International Tobacco Control Four Country Survey conducted a telephone survey in a nationally representative sample of adult smokers from Canada, the USA, the UK, and Australia. Smokers were followed across three waves over two years, during which they were asked to report on their smoking-related beliefs and their quitting behavior. Smokers with no history of quitting across the different groups exhibited the highest levels of realizations for smoking. When smokers quit smoking they reported having few reason for smoking compared with when they had previously been smoking. Among those who tried to quite but relapsed there was also a tendency to rationalize their smoking. This rationalization is innate in humans for risk minimizing beliefs as predicted by social psychological theory. (Fotuhu et al. 2012)

COGNITIVE DISSONANCE: WHAT MOTIVATES SMOKERS TO KEEP SMOKING?

Dissonance and Self Esteem We as humans have the tendency and need to perceive themselves as intelligent, reasonable and decent people. Therefore, humans strive to maintain a positive concept of them even when we exhibit behavior or an attitude that contradicts our self-image. (Aronson, 1969). The research indicates that self-esteem is correlated with ability to accept information that suggests they have performed poorly or somehow been negligent. (Brockner, 1979; Shrauger & Kelly, 1988). It also suggests the are implications of how these people perceive constructive criticism and how these dissonance reductions strategies ultimately work less in individuals with higher esteem because they are less easily dissuaded to take up smoking. Self-esteem is directly affected by dissonance reduction (Steele 1988). Steele argues that a dissonance provoking act should make people with low self esteem easily susceptible to change because of their low likelihood to hold favor to that. In contrast Steele suggests that high esteemed individuals hold more clout to their actions and thus are less likely to stop those actions because they think very highly of themselves and their choices and cannot accept the dissonance arousal.

Risk Perceptions and Cognitive Dissonance Understanding that ones behavior is endangering ones health is certainly likely to arouse cognitive dissonance, which is why several researchers have suggested that dissonance reduction may have been responsible for the changes in cognitions evidenced in their studies. In fact there is a long history in social psychology suggesting that one way smokers reduce the cognitive dissonance produced by the realization that they are engaging an unwise behavior is

COGNITIVE DISSONANCE: WHAT MOTIVATES SMOKERS TO KEEP SMOKING?

to change knowledge about the subject and essentially re-educate themselves. Today more so than the past people are aware of the negative effects of smoking and continue to partake. When asked if they want to quit the majority of smokers concern themselves with their health as the primary reason (Gibbons 1988). Today smokers claim to be well aware of the risk associated with their habits (Fisher 1990). The extensive research that has been done suggests that risk perception plays a critical element in this process. When smokers recognize that their chances for developing illnesses such as lung cancer, their sense of awareness is heightened. (Benthin, Slovic, & Severson, 1993) These risks and perceptions of health risks have been shown to be negatively related to adolescents who start smoking (Flay et al. 1994). Among Current smokers, risk perceptions are positively associated with intention to quit (Eiser, Sutton & Wober, 1978) One study has examined this issue completely. Gibbons, Mcgovern, Et all. (1991). Assessed health risk perceptions of smokers before during and after a quit attempt. Results have indicated that these risk perceptions were higher at the time the smokers started the quit program and slightly declined towards the end. (Gerrard, Gibbons Benthin, and Hessling (1996). Found that adolescents who increased their health risk over time, for example smoking, drinking, and exhibiting reckless driving) reported a noticeable increase in perceived health risk but a significant decline in how much concern about health was likely to directly impact their smoking behavior. Meaning they realized that their risky behavior was not good enough reason for them to stop.

COGNITIVE DISSONANCE: WHAT MOTIVATES SMOKERS TO KEEP SMOKING?

Dissonance Reduction A person who smokes cigarettes knows that smoking causes many different diseases but continues to smoke anyway. According to Festinger (1957), cognitive dissonance arises when a person holds two cognitions or mental thoughts, which are inconsistent. Therefore, the smoking person who thinks about diseases that can be caused by cigarette smoking experiences cognitive dissonance when confronted with this information. The reduction of this dissonance involves several strategies. Firstly, the smoker could quit smoking, which would be possibly the best strategy to eliminate their dissonance (Aronson, 1968). Secondly, a person could simply deny the harmful consequences of smoking by ignoring or demonstrating a weak relationship between disease and smoking. Furthermore the smoker could emphasize other thoughts such as Smoking makes me calm. One strategy to reduce cognitive dissonance is to think less about conflicting information. Smokers suppress thoughts about negative consequences because of their personal involvement and the resulting dissonance. Recent research of thought suppression suggests that they result in a higher activation . (Macrae et al., 1994; Monteith, Spicer, & Tooman, 1998) Trying not to think about something seems to make such information more accessible. Although, there is evidence that suggests internally motivated people seem to be able to suppress activated thoughts (Monteith et al. 1998).

Discussion The number of studies concerning the smokers dilemma is numerous. For instance, Tagliacozzo (1981) investigated tendencies of smokers to avoid dissonant information about their smoking behaviors. She presented a quiz with smoking related health information with

COGNITIVE DISSONANCE: WHAT MOTIVATES SMOKERS TO KEEP SMOKING?

instructions to circle the information items, which were in the participants opinion important for smokers to know. The results indicated that smokers compared to non-smokers had a greater tendency to avoid exposure to dissonance information but no differences between your experience of smoking emerged. Self affirmation theory focuses on the central role of the self concept in the cognitive dissonance process. According to (Steele, 1988) dissonance arises in situations where selfintegrity of a person is threatened. People want to maintain positive self-concept and these inconsistencies threaten the overall integrity of the self. Previous research on cognitive dissonance as well as research on similar things such as warning labels used surveys as exclusive methods to assess cognitive dissonance. But ratings and self-reports have associated problems. For example social desirability might bias the data. Nowadays smoking is branded behavior and as a consequence self-reports may be prone to distortions produced by impression management. If smokers were in a state of cognitive dissonance between the cognition that smoking is a health hazard and the knowledge that they are smokers it would be expected that attempts would be made to reduce the inconsistency between cognitions. (Festinger, 1957). Although smokers do not reduce dissonance by avoiding information on smoking health (Brock 1965), some evidence exists that smokers are less likely to believe in a causal relationship (Lawton & Goldman, 1961).

COGNITIVE DISSONANCE: WHAT MOTIVATES SMOKERS TO KEEP SMOKING?

Conclusion Smokers are motivated to rationalize their behavior through the endorsement of more positive beliefs about smoking, such as how it makes them feel. These beliefs change systematically as the smoker becomes more experienced. Even though smoking has tremendous health consequences, and is one of the leading causes of preventable death (Word Health Organization, 2003). People continue to smoke. Therefore, governments attempt to discourage smoking in different ways. Warning labels printed on cigarette packages is a popular mean that has been introduced worldwide. These warning labels provide information about the health-damaging consequences through text statements and in some countries the text information is presented with pictures that should likely arise dissonance. These warning labels are to inform people about the negative consequences of smoking (Strahan et al., 2002). A major finding of significance was the repeated confirmation of a close relationship between smokers announced intentions to quit and their endorsements of dissonance reducing ideas. Smokers who announced an intention to quit endorsed fewer rationalizations (Brehm & Cohen). Overall, many individuals struggle to cope with their smoking addiction and it is a very consuming habit, which consumes your health and your money. Its important to understand and determine which factors are strongly at work when trying to categorize a smoker.

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