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The learning of balanced and unbalanced social structures 1
Author(s) -
Zajonc Robert B.,
Burnstein Eugene
Publication year - 1965
Publication title -
journal of personality
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.082
H-Index - 144
eISSN - 1467-6494
pISSN - 0022-3506
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-6494.1965.tb01378.x
Subject(s) - psychology , cognitive dissonance , generalization , social psychology , psychoanalysis , artificial intelligence , epistemology , computer science , philosophy
: The theories of balance and dissonance which assume that balance, congruity, and consonance are the normal, expected, and desired state, and that it is easier to learn a balanced structure than an unbalanced one were tested on twelve volunteer college students. Six structures, three balanced and three unbalanced, were employed. Each structure involved an issue and two hypothetical men and an issue. The issues were Integration and Newsweek. These structures were arranged graphically and connected by arrows each of which constituted an item in the paired associates list. The six structures generated eighteen items. Of these items, nine required a positive response and nine a negative response. One group of subjects learned the six structures with Integration as the issue and the other group with Newsweek as the issue. An unbalanced structure was found more difficult to learn than a balanced one, but only when the issue was an important one. Negative relationships were found to be more difficult to learn than positive ones.