Homeostatic Theory in Attitude Change
Nathan Maccobby; Eleanor E. Maccoby
The Public Opinion Quarterly, Vol. 25, No. 4 (Winter 1961), 538-545

Homeostasis is a theme that appears to exist within the context of the following theories:
Festinger's theory of cognitive dissonance
Heider's Balance theory
Rosenberg's affective-cognitive consistency approach
McGuire's rational syllogistic formulation
Osgood & Tannenbaum;s congruity theory
Newcomb's strain toward symmetry
Brehm, Cohen, Adams, Romney, and the Maccoby's theory attitude change problems
Cartwright and Harary's attitude change theories based on Heider's balance theory.
They involve a kind of balance of forces approach in which the overloading of one type of factor gives rise to changes designed to restore balance.

 

Rosenberg hypnotized subjects and suggested a radican change in belief without giving reasons, plus an instruction to forget afterward that such a suggestion had been made. The results were quite startling. Not only did the changes in belief occur, but all sorts of arguments were invented to support these new beliefs. For instance, in one study hypnotized subjects who believed strongly in United States aid to foreign countires were told that upon awakening, the very idea of such United States aid would displease and disgust them. Upon awakening they strongly opposed the principle of United States aid and were completely convinced that they took their new propositions as a result of hard reasoning.

    Possible alternatives to a change in attitude:
  1. Strengthening the original attitude by discounting the source of the disturbing communication, or seeking additional information which will support the original attitude.
  2. Refusal to attend to the message, or repressing or de-verbalizing once it is received.
  3. Compartmentalizing or fractionalizing the attitude so that the inconsistencies are not so readily apparent.
    Tolerance for ambiguity between beliefs and messages.
  1. There are people who not only can endure dissonance, but who seek it.

People who became dissonant through a message became an active audience, seeking more information. People who actively sought post-communication conversations about their newly acquired beliefs were prevented from backsliding to the previously held beliefs for a period of six months.

INTRODUCTION

  1. GENERAL THEORIES
    1. Festinger's theory states that dissonance can result from the following
      1. The perception of logical inconsistencies.
      2. Conflicting motivations
      3. Perceived negative consequences of potential actions.
    2. Heider's theory
    3. Rosenburg's theory
    4. Osgood and Tannenbaum's congruity approach
    5. Newcomb's strain towards symmetry
  2. ESPECIALLY DEVISED APPROACHES
  3. RELATION OF LEARNING THEORY TO HOMEOSTATIC THEORY
    1. One cannot comfortably hold inconsistent attudes or beliefs because they produce conflicting action tendencies and in the presense of such tendencies, the state of conflict itself becomes a drive which spurs the individual into some activity designed to resolve the conflict.
    2. The smallest irreducible unit of a cognition a single unit of stimulus response
  4. CHANNELING THE MOTIVATION INTO ATTITUDE CHANGE
  5. USES OF HOMEOSTATIC THEORY