Discuss the following theories: Heider’s Balance Theory Newcomb’s Symmetry Theory Osgood’s Congruity Theory Festinger’s Theory of Cognitive Dissonance. Heider’s Balance Theory: Most writers usually credit Fritz Heider (1946) with the earliest articulation of a consistency theory, although the informal concept can be traced back to earlier work (see Kiesler et al., 1969, p. 157). As a psychologist, Heider was concerned with the way an individual organizes attitudes toward people and objects in relation to one another within that individual’s own cognitive structure. Heider postulated that unbalanced states produce tension and generate forces to restore balance. He says that “the concept of a balanced state designates a situation in which the perceived units and the experienced sentiments co-exist without stress” (1958, p. 176). Heider’s paradigm focused on two individuals, a person (P), the object of the analysis, some […]
Heider’s Balance, Newcomb’s Symmetry, Osgood’s Congruity & Cognitive Dissonance Theories
