Persuasive Principle #5: Law of Dissonance

          According to Kurt W. Mortensen, author of Maximum Influence, “The Law of Dissonance states that people will naturally act in a manner that is consistent with their cognitions or commitments” (Mortensen 93). I feel that the Law of Dissonance means that the more you create pressure on someone’s cognitions and commitments, the more persuasive you will be. That is, the more you show that someone’s actions aren’t in line with their beliefs you will become more persuasive if you offer the solution which allows the individual to keep their self-image in line with their actions, which reduces their dissonance. I don’t use the Law of Dissonance on other people enough to remember a time in which I have ever used it. This is because I feel that someone’s self-image is a very delicate thing and I don’t want to seem as though I am attacking the person directly. I fear that if I use such a strategy it will backfire on me in the worst of ways and the person I’m trying to persuade will attack me through confrontation, something I try to avoid. There is a way in which this law can be used in a successful manner and as the semester goes on I want to make an effort to focus on learning how to use this law properly. I view the Law of Dissonance as one of the best tools in persuasion, out of the laws we have discussed thus far, and I want to be able to use it effectively.

Even though I don’t use the Law of Dissonance on other people, I can recall numerous times in which it has been used on me. When I was in high school some of my friends were on the tennis team and they would occasionally try to get me to come and play tennis with them. I never played tennis so I didn’t think I would be very good at it, plus I felt that I had better things to do than embarrass myself because they were really good and I was quite the opposite. After school a group of us were exiting the building when one of my friends asked me to play tennis. I respectfully declined his offer but he insisted that I come and play. He then asked me if I was a good baseball player because he knew I was on the team, and I said that I thought I was. My friend elaborated on my statement by explaining that if I was a good baseball player then I would be a good tennis player because they were somewhat similar, so I had no reason not to come and play. Instantly the pressure was put on me to live up to the expectations of my beliefs because if I didn’t go play tennis they might have thought that I was a bad baseball player. My friend was very effective in persuading me because I ended up playing tennis with them in order to reduce the dissonance he had created. I felt better when I accepted his invitation because I had kept my actions in line with my beliefs, but this good feeling didn’t last because they destroyed me on the tennis court. Time and time again my friends would do the same thing, and you think I would’ve learned their tricks, but I never did.

Another example of the Law of Dissonance was when I went to the bookstore to purchase a new book that had just come out. This new book was one in a series of books that I had previously read and I wanted to continue to unravel the story. Before I went to the store I decided that I wasn’t going to spend any more than fifteen dollars on the book even though I brought a twenty dollar bill with me. When I arrived to the bookstore I strategically made my way through the aisles to find the book I desired. Once I reached the book I was overjoyed, but that feeling was short lived when I discovered that the price was a little bit over sixteen dollars. I made a commitment to myself that I wasn’t going to spend more than fifteen dollars on the book even though I wanted it badly. I felt internal pressure within me to live up to my beliefs and commitments; dissonance began to form. After a little time in thought I started to reason with myself that I was buying a book, and books were good for the brain. I felt that people would understand that I spent a little more than what I planned on because I am building my knowledge base, which is a practice that is praised in our society. I decided to spend the extra money based off of that reason, effectively persuading myself that the book would be a great thing for me even though I had broken my commitment. I bought the book and the dissonance was reduced because I had successfully convinced myself that I was right, even though now I know that I was wrong.

Nowadays the Law of Dissonance is not that effective when it is used against me. Through my life experiences and with the help of this persuasion class I can see it coming from a mile away. Just a couple of weeks ago my sister was trying some nasty jelly beans. Upset that no one would join her in her adventure, she approached me and offered me a nasty jelly bean. I respectfully declined but my sister was determined to bring someone down with her on the dark path she had embarked on. She asked me if I liked to try new things and I responded by stating that I indeed enjoyed trying new things. My sister went on to ask me if I liked to eat tasty foods to which I certainly agreed. She explained to me that if I liked these things then I should try a nasty jelly bean. Since I had an understanding of the Law of Dissonance I told her that I knew exactly what she was trying to do and went on to explain that I would not, under any circumstance, try a nasty jelly bean. My sister realized that her attempts to persuade me had failed so she decided to leave me alone. She was unsuccessful in persuading me by attempting to put pressure on my self-image because I knew that she was trying to persuade me to eat a nasty jelly bean, which was her proposed solution to reduce the supposed dissonance she had created.

Throughout the semester I have gained a better understanding of the Law of Involvement, which has allowed me to know when and how to use it. As Kurt W. Mortensen explains, “The Law of Involvement suggests that the more you engage someone’s five senses, involve them mentally and physically, and create the right atmosphere for persuasion, the more effective and persuasive you’ll be” (Mortensen 44). It is still challenging for me to find a situation in which I can practice the Law of Involvement and test my ability to use it. But during one of my persuasion classes this semester a classmate and I had to perform a skit to show how the Law of Involvement could be applied when trying to obtain a store discount. I played someone trying to buy shoes at a discounted price, and I even had the salesperson (my classmate) try on the shoes I wanted. In addition to that, I had him feel the shoes with his hands and even suggested that he smell the shoes to get him to understand that they weren’t worth the price he was asking. In the end I got the discount and the skit helped better my understanding of how the Law of Involvement can be used in real life situations.