Mind the Gap: Investigating cognitive dissonance and self-esteem correlations in academia

This study investigates the relationship between cognitive dissonance and changes in academic self-esteem. Theoretical evidence, such as Aronson’s Self-Consistency Theory, reinforces the role of self-esteem in the cognitive dissonance process. However, despite extensive research on this theory, few extant studies have investigated how dissonance affects self-esteem, a key assumption within Aronson’s framework. This study employed statistical analyses to explore how cognitive dissonance predicts changes in academic self-esteem. A sample of thirty-five 11 <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mml:msup><mml:mi/><mml:mrow><mml:mi>t</mml:mi><mml:mi>h</mml:mi></mml:mrow></mml:msup></mml:math> and 12 <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mml:msup><mml:mi/><mml:mrow><mml:mi>t</mml:mi><mml:mi>h</mml:mi></mml:mrow></mml:msup></mml:math>-grade Early College Experience (ECE) students, enrolled in a statistics course, provided data on their cognitive dissonance levels through the difference between their actual and expected performance task scores. They also responded to the Academic Self-Esteem Scale, a seven-question, five-point Likert scale, to assess their academic self-esteem. After receiving their initial performance scores, they completed another survey, revealing the predictive impact of cognitive dissonance on the change in academic self-esteem. The study’s findings indicated that cognitive dissonance significantly predicted changes in academic self-esteem. This result empirically supports a key theoretical relationship within the Self-Consistency Theory, enhancing its credibility and implications. The discussion focuses on the psychological implications that Aronson’s theory offers, situating them within an academic context.