Organizational Behaviour: Cognitive Dissonance and Attitude Adjustment

This essay addresses the issue of cognitive dissonance and its impact on attitudes within an organizational behavior context. The author reflects on personal experiences with stereotypes, specifically concerning a negative predisposition towards individuals from Nigeria. The essay outlines a plan to overcome these biases by challenging stereotypical beliefs, evaluating individuals on their merits, and adopting a positive psychological approach. The implementation strategy involves consciously changing thought patterns, avoiding generalizations, focusing on positive attributes, and suppressing outward expressions of negative attitudes. By actively modifying both internal beliefs and external behaviors, the author aims to foster a more inclusive and positive attitude towards the targeted group, thereby improving overall organizational behavior and interpersonal interactions. The essay concludes with references to relevant academic sources that support the proposed strategies for attitude change and cognitive dissonance resolution.

Running head: ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR 1
Organizational Behaviour
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation

ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR 2
Organizational Behaviour
Experience
First, I will begin by identifying the cognitive dissonance that makes me have a
certain predisposition towards a certain group of people who form the bulk of our clients. In
my experience, the inclination that I have towards them is that of suspicion due to the
stereotypes created in my mind regarding their behavior. This experience was elicited last
year when I almost fell victim to a con artist from Nigeria purporting to sell a new iPhone.
During the same month, my friend was conned of his hard earned cash after he was sold fake
electronic products. These experiences have since elated my negative attitude towards the
Nigerians. Concisely, I am stereotyped to believe that all Nigerians are conmen and that I
should be wary and careful when dealing with them.
After identifying this group of people, I will devise ways of ensuring that the
stereotype ingrained inside my mind that elicits the attitude towards them gets out. This
objective will be achieved by removing the stereotypes and handling each person
individually. I will then identify some of the public behaviours that make me showcase detest
I have against the Nigerians and how I can change this behaviour so that I develop positive
attitudes towards them. I will then put my plan into practice.
Implementing the Plan
One way of developing positive attitudes towards other people is by trying to change
the manner of thinking about them. The way we think about other people increases or
decreases our attitudes about them (Petty & Krosnick, 2014). Therefore, this means that I
need to start changing the stereotypical beliefs that have taken root in my mind about all
Nigerians as being bad people. The next step in my implementation program will entail
evaluating each Nigerian on his merit. The habit of generalizing all Nigerians and having a
closed mind about them should not be in my mind. The reason is that the attribution that we

ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR 3
hold about other people matters a great deal in the manner in which we make personal
judgments about them (Erwin, 2014). With this in mind, I believe that it will be better if I
stopped making blanket judgments about the people who come from the country called
Nigeria. Since generalisations lead to stereotyping, making predetermined judgments and
anchoring attitudes about a specific group of people, the best way of avoiding this will be by
ensuring that I avoid anything that is likely to lead to these unsubstantiated generalizations.
My implementation strategy will entail developing positive psychology in my mind
about all people. Positive psychology focuses on the positive sides and strengths of people
instead of dwelling too much on the negatives (Hefferon, 2013). By this, it means that I will
develop positive mental pictures about the people of Nigeria so that I start looking at their
positives and strengths. I will start looking at the manner in which I can benefit by
associating with them so that I embrace them and relate with them positively.
The last bit of my implementation will entail trying to hide or suppress the external
feelings that may make me show the outside world that I have a bad perception of a particular
group of people. Attitude is regarded as a motor concept (Perloff, 2016). This implication
indicates that there are outward signs that one will display by either liking or disliking
someone or something. Towards this end, I will ensure that those long faces that I have been
displaying whenever I see a Nigerian will no longer be there. Moreover, I will also try to
ensure that I put on a smiling face or a happy face whenever I come across these people. In so
doing, it will be possible for me to embrace these people positively and shed off any negative
perceptions that I may have had about the Nigerians. In this regard, I will have changed my
attitude towards this category of people.

ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR 4
References
Erwin, P. (2014). Attitudes and persuasion. New York: Psychology Press.
Hefferon, K. (2013). Positive psychology and the body: The somatopsychic side to
flourishing. London: McGraw-Hill Education.
Perloff, R.M. (2016). The dynamics of persuasion: Communication attitudes in the twenty-
first century. London: Taylor-Francis.
Petty, R.E., & Krosnick, J.A. (2014). Attitude strength: Antecedents and consequences. New
York: Psychology Press.