Cognitive Dissonance Theory

There was a commercial on the radio a little while ago where a daughter approached her mom asking if she liked the new shirt she just purchased. The mom responds with that the shirt is the prettiest thing she had ever seen then continued to ask how much the shirt cost. When the daughter told her mother the shirt cost 56 Jr. Bacon Cheeseburgers, the mom responds with "56 Jr. Bacon Cheeseburgers?! That is the ugliest shirt I've ever seen!" The daughter questioned the mother and said she had just said it was the cutest shirt in the world. The mother ended the commercial with commenting that she thought the shirt was cute before she realized the shirt was worth 56 Jr. Bacon Cheeseburgers.

This Wendy's radio commercial is an example of the cognitive dissonance theory. The mother thought the shirt was beautiful and then changed her mind when she realized how much the shirt cost. Her actions and beliefs did not match and this specific answer can be considered part of the post decision dissonance (buyer's remorse).

If there is a small reward for the behavior then the belief may change as well as the small amount of contact reduces the amount of dissonance are two of the other hypotheses of the theory.

I really do not agree with the majority of this theory. If a behavior does not match the attitude expected, that does not mean there is a dissonance. This theory is very interesting, but needs to be investigated further!