Cognitive dissonance : reexamining a pivotal theory in psychology

"The first edition of this book was published in 1999. Since then, several theoretical and empirical advances have occurred for dissonance theory. This second edition highlights those advances. For example, chapter four presents a new extension of dissonance theory, referred to as the action-based model. Chapter six considers the connections between dissonance processes and other motivational processes. Chapter five illustrates how dissonance processes play a fundamental role in a broad array of information processes and how the theory then contributes valuable insights into a wide range of phenomena. Chapter ten discusses a new mathematical model of dissonance processes, chapter eleven presents evidence on the neural correlates of dissonance processes. In addition, other chapters that already presented important advances in the first edition have been updated with coverage of more recent research supporting these original advances. Finally, some chapters were reproduced verbatim from the first edition; this occurred for chapters written by authors who are deceased or who have retired. The chapters included in the second edition have been grouped into three parts, organized on the basis of themes shared by the chapters. Part one, consists of chapters discussing work that uses the original version of dissonance theory. Part two, comprises chapters that discuss the revisions of cognitive dissonance theory that use the self as a crucial factor in dissonance processes. Part three, includes a chapter that reviews several mathematical models of dissonance processes and then presents a novel one."