Leon Festinger's (1957) cognitive dissonance theory suggests that we have an inner drive to hold all our attitudes and behavior in harmony as a means of avoiding disharmony - or dissonance. This is known as the principle of cognitive consistency.
Festinger first investigated this by means of an observational study of a cult which believed that the earth was going to be destroyed by a flood and the ensuing impact this had upon the membership. In particular, the really committed members who had given up their homes and jobs to work for the cult when the flood did not materialize.
While fringe members were more inclined to recognize that they had made fools of themselves and to 'put it down to experience,' committed members were more likely to re-interpret the evidence to show that they were right all along.
And as a consequence the earth was not destroyed because of the faithfulness of the cult members.
If members of a modern day cult call for more
ballots to be counted in one state and fewer in another do they experience any dissonance?
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