Dissonance dilemma: exploring the causes and effects of cognitive dissonance at workplace
Abstract/Description
Cognitive Dissonance is an increasingly important concept in organizational behavior. Employees face several situations where they feel the discrepancy between their beliefs and behaviors, which create a distressful feeling, impacting their decision-making and work behaviors. Cognitive consistency is thought to be a vital aspect of the human mind, and cognitive dissonance theory is the well-known and often studied theory in this context. Dissonance theory states that when two or more thoughts are inconsistent, individuals experience distressful effects. This emotional response propels individuals to take part in different dissonance-reduction approaches. This study intended to explore some novel and unanswered inquiries about cognitive dissonance research.
This study focused on gaining in-depth knowledge about cognitive dissonance from various employees’ viewpoints. This study explained the possible antecedents and impacts of cognitive dissonance occurring in the workplace. The most important objective of this research was to discover the significance of cognitive dissonance in the decision-making process and to develop a paradigm that integrated the Cognitive dissonance theory of Festinger (1957). With that in mind, semi-structured interviews were applied to collect data from two different samples, i.e., France and Pakistan. Thirty (30) interviews were performed to accumulate data about employees' work environments and the dissonant situations. Thematic analyses were used, and multiple themes were produced that were embedded in the context of cognitive dissonance. The main themes were injustice, ethical issues, and role conflict. The qualitative study revealed that the employees exposed to cognitive dissonance suffered in both professional and individual lives in different manners.
Keywords
Cognitive Dissonance, Work Ethics, Injustice, Role Ambiguity, Burnout
Track
Management
Session Number/Theme
Session 3C: Employee Behavior
Session Chair
Dr. Nyla Aleem Ansari, Institute of Business Administration, Karachi
Start Date/Time
24-6-2022 2:20 PM
End Date/Time
24-6-2022 2:40 PM
Location
Training Room 1, Marriott Hotel, Karachi
Recommended Citation
Shah, J. (2022). Dissonance dilemma: exploring the causes and effects of cognitive dissonance at workplace. 3rd IBA SBS International Conference 2024. Retrieved from https://ir.iba.edu.pk/sbsic/2022/program/45
COinS
Dissonance dilemma: exploring the causes and effects of cognitive dissonance at workplace
Training Room 1, Marriott Hotel, Karachi
Cognitive Dissonance is an increasingly important concept in organizational behavior. Employees face several situations where they feel the discrepancy between their beliefs and behaviors, which create a distressful feeling, impacting their decision-making and work behaviors. Cognitive consistency is thought to be a vital aspect of the human mind, and cognitive dissonance theory is the well-known and often studied theory in this context. Dissonance theory states that when two or more thoughts are inconsistent, individuals experience distressful effects. This emotional response propels individuals to take part in different dissonance-reduction approaches. This study intended to explore some novel and unanswered inquiries about cognitive dissonance research.
This study focused on gaining in-depth knowledge about cognitive dissonance from various employees’ viewpoints. This study explained the possible antecedents and impacts of cognitive dissonance occurring in the workplace. The most important objective of this research was to discover the significance of cognitive dissonance in the decision-making process and to develop a paradigm that integrated the Cognitive dissonance theory of Festinger (1957). With that in mind, semi-structured interviews were applied to collect data from two different samples, i.e., France and Pakistan. Thirty (30) interviews were performed to accumulate data about employees' work environments and the dissonant situations. Thematic analyses were used, and multiple themes were produced that were embedded in the context of cognitive dissonance. The main themes were injustice, ethical issues, and role conflict. The qualitative study revealed that the employees exposed to cognitive dissonance suffered in both professional and individual lives in different manners.
