Thesis

Attitudes towards cigarette smoking : an investigation of cognitive dissonance

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Awarding institution
  • University of Strathclyde
Date of award
  • 1990
Thesis identifier
  • T6768
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Abstract
  • The present study is an investigation of attitudes towards cigarette smoking. The first part of the study compared the attitudes of three groups of matched subjects, comprising of twenty-seven current smokers, twenty-seven non-smokers, and twenty-one ex-smokers, as measured by a questionnaire. It was found that the current smokers were more likely to emphasise the benefits of smoking and de-emphasise the unfavourable outcomes of their habit than the other two groups. The ex-smokers were found to hold generally similar attitudes to the non- smokers. The second part of the study, compared the attitudes of very dissonant smokers and not very dissonant smokers, grouped on the basis of the distinction made by Mckennel and Thomas (1967). The very dissonant smokers were found to be more likely to fear the health risks of their habit, more likely to view their habit as an addiction and more likely to emphasise the positive consequences of smoking than the not very dissonant smokers. The results of both parts of the study were discussed with reference to dissonance theory, and it was concluded that they provide firm evidence for the usefulness of a dissonance interpretation of attitudes towards smoking.
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