Examining the "Cognitive Dissonance" of Students at Pleasantville High School by Grade and by Gender

Reiger, Robert C., Education

The Cognitive Dissonance Test (DISS) is designed to assess the nature and degree of "hurts" of individuals that often lie deep in the unconscious, so that they are able to deal with such hurts in a conscious and cognitive manner. A study reported in the New York Times in December 1949 found that knowledge of Cognitive Dissonance is the greatest contribution to society for the first half of the 20th century- from the Victorian to the Atomic Age (Commager, 1949). The DISS test is designed to provide students such knowledge of where and how much it hurts in the unconscious. It is comprised of 200 true/false type items that are designed to discover the nature and degree of cognitive dissonance present, but not the often "gory" and personal details of why it hurts. It is comprised of eight part scores with 25 items in each:

Part I -- Internal and Personal:

1. Home & Family --        HOM
2. Internal Development -- INN
3. Personal Development -- PER
4. Health & Well-Being --  HEA

Part I Total -- IPTOT Part II -- External & Impersonal:

5. School & Learning -    SCH
6. Social & Affiliation - SOC
7. Survival & Power -     SUR
8. Life Pursuits -        LIF

Part II Total -- EITOT

DISS Total Score -- DISTOT

Discern Score -- LIE

Group Involved

The group is comprised of 140 students presently attending Pleasantville High School ranging in age from 14 to 20 years, with a mean age of 16.56, and with a standard deviation of 1.23 years. There were 84 females and 56 males. It included 48 freshman, 11 sophomores, 47 juniors, and 34 seniors.

Change in Cognitive Dissonance During High School

The data contained in Table 2 below displays an analysis of variance of the mean DISS scores over the four years of high school. Everyone of the DISS mean scores, except for PER (Personal Adjustment), was higher in the senior year than it was for entering freshman-an increase in hurts during the high school years. While only …

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Publication information: Article title: Examining the "Cognitive Dissonance" of Students at Pleasantville High School by Grade and by Gender. Contributors: Reiger, Robert C. - Author. Journal title: Education. Volume: 121. Issue: 1 Publication date: Fall 2000. Page number: 38. © 1999 Project Innovation. COPYRIGHT 2000 Gale Group.

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