You just bought an expensive pair of shoes. You have a very brief pang of regret. Did you need another pair of shoes? Did you need these shoes? Should you take them back?
After about 10 seconds, you let go of the regret. “They’re great,” you say, “and they’ll be just right for the wedding I’m going to at the end of the month. It’s been a long time since I bought something nice for myself.”
You just experienced and overcame cognitive dissonance.
Post-Purchase Cognitive Dissonance
In the mid 1950s, psychologist Leon Festinger (1957) formulated the idea of cognitive dissonance. People like to be consistent in their thoughts and actions. When people act in a way that’s inconsistent with their beliefs, when they hold two contradictory beliefs, or when they encounter new information that conflicts with their existing beliefs, then they feel uncomfortable. They’ll try to change either their beliefs or actions so that they’re cohesive, or consistent, again.
Cognitive dissonance is relevant in many aspects of how people think and behave, and shopping is one. After you make a purchase, you justify it to yourself. If there’s anything wrong with the product or service, that may actually strengthen your commitment to the purchase, since feeling that you made a poor choice in the purchase increases your cognitive dissonance.
Cognitive Dissonance And Rating And Reviews
One way that people can reduce the possibility of cognitive dissonance, or reduce its effects if it occurs, is by telling others what a great purchase they’ve made. This means that people are more likely to leave a positive review, rating, or testimonial right after they’ve made a purchase.
Takeaways
- The best time to ask for a rating, review, or testimonial is right after a purchase has been made.
- To lessen the likelihood of post-purchase cognitive dissonance, send a message to people who have just purchased a product with social validation data—quotes or ratings from others who say how glad they are that they made the purchase.
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