Question

Professor Stewart wrote a very positive letter of recommendation for a student despite having doubts about her competence.

Which theory best explains why he subsequently began to develop more favorable attitudes about the student's abilities?

a) cognitive dissonance theory
b) attribution theory
c) central route persuasion
d) the fundamental attribution error

Answer 1

a) cognitive dissonance theory

Step-by-step explanation:

Cognitive dissonance theory: The theory of cognitive dissonance was proposed by Leon Festinger in 1957. He believed that individual desires to have internal psychological consistency perform mentally in the world.

According to this theory, an individual needs or desires to seek or gain consistency psychologically or in his or her cognitions, for example, opinions, or beliefs. When an individual encounters inconsistency between his or her behavior or attitude then the individual requires something to eliminate the dissonance created by behavior or attitude.

In the question above, the statement signifies the cognitive dissonance theory.