An examination of cognitive dissonance and computer attitudes

In the present study 164 undergraduate students completed the three subtests (ire., anxiety, confidence, and liking) of the Computer Attitude Scale. The scores from these subtests were broken down as a function of how many hours per week the respondents voluntarily used a computer, and whether or not they owned or had owned a computer. The results indicated that those who had voluntarily used a computer, and/or owned one were significantly more likely to demonstrate lower computer anxiety scores, and higher computer confidence and computer liking scores, when compared to their counterparts. These findings conform very nicely to what would be predicted based upon cognitive dissonance theory.

Leon Festinger originally introduced the concept of "cognitive dissonance" in 1957. Basically, this term refers to when individuals take a position on some issue, be it through what they say or what they do. Either way, a personal commitment is made, and that commitment is thought to shape these individuals' future attitudes and/or actions regarding the issue or thing in question. Well, where computers are concerned, what actions can occur that can demonstrate individuals' endorsement of them and/or favorable position toward them?

Some things that seem to fit into this domain are (1) voluntary choice to use them, and/or (2) ownership of them. With these potential indicants of cognitive dissonance in mind, the present study will seek to determine if those individuals who voluntarily use computers demonstrate more favorable attitudes toward computers than their nonvoluntary counterparts, and/or if those individuals who own or have owned a computer demonstrate more favorable attitudes than their non-owner counte parts.

Besides these cognitive dissonance-related factors, students' attitudes toward computers will also be examined as a function of their gender and/or age.

Method

A total of 164 undergraduate students (i.e., 71 females and 93 males), enrolled in a computer literacy class at a large Midwestern university, voluntarily participated in the present study. These students completed the Computer Attitude Scale (CAS; developed by Loyd and Gessard, 1984). This scale consists of 30 items that are intended to assess the respondents' attitudes toward computers and computer usage. The CAS contains three subscales (i.e., the "anxiety," "confidence," and "liking" subscales). The Likert-type alternatives for each item ranged from "strongly agree" to "strongly disagree." In addition to these subscale scores, students were also surveyed regarding the number of hours per week that they voluntarily use a computer, whether or not they own or have owned a computer, their gender, and their age.

Results

A series of analyses of covariance were used to examine the data. Each analysis considered a different subscale as the dependent variable, while all of the analyses considered all the independent variables, i.e., hours per week of voluntary use, whether or not they own or have owned a computer, their gender, and their aue.

Computer Anxiety

While age (F[1/127] = 0.04, p>0.05) and gender (F[1/127] = 3.64, p>0.OS) were not found to have any significant effect the main effects of voluntary use (F[1/127] = 8.52, p

Computer Confidence

Age once again was not found to demonstrate a significant effect (F[1/127] = 1.58, p>0.OS), but gender (F[1/127] - 6.02, p

Computer Liking

In this analysis all four independent variables were found to demonstrate significant differences. That is, all the results varied as a function of age (F[1/128] = 5.84, p

Discussion

The results from the present study certainly indicate strong support for the notion that the theory of cognitive dissonance applies to computer attitudes. More specifically, those who had voluntarily used a computer were more likely to demonstrate less computer anxiety and more computer confidence and liking than those who had not voluntarily used a computer. Similarly, those who own or have owned a computer were more likely to demonstrate less computer anxiety and more computer confidence and liking than those who had not owned a computer. All of these findings tend to suggest that computer users and owners have made a personal commitment to their computers, and therefore have adjusted their attitudes accordingly.

The students' gender and age differences, and their varied findings across computer attitudes, are quite interesting-though unexplainable at this time. Further theory-driven research is needed in order to adequately account for these findings. Nevertheless, findings such as these should have strong heuristic value for researchers interested in exploring, and ultimately explaining, these differences or lack thereof.

References

Festinger, L. (1957). A theory of cognitive dissonance. Evanston, IL: Row & Peterson.

Loyd, B., & Gressard, C. (1984). Reliability and factorial validity of Computer Attitude Scale. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 44, 501-505.

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