Cognitive reactions to
smoking relapse: The reciprocal relation between dissonance and self-esteem
Frederick X. Gibbons, Tami J.
Eggleston, Alida C. Benthin
(1997) Journal of Personality
and Social Psychology, 72, 184-195.
Perceptions of health risk associated
with smoking, commitment to quitting, and self-concept were assessed among
smokers before, during, and after their participation in cessation clinics.
Consistent with expectations derived from cognitive dissonance theory, results
indicated that relapsers’ perception of risk declined after they resumed
smoking, although the decline was significant only for relapsers with high
self-esteem; high self-esteem relapsers experienced a significantly greater
decline in commitment to quitting than did low self-esteem relapsers; and
decline in risk perception among relapsers was associated with maintenance of
self-esteem. The implications of these results for dissonance theory and the
study of smoking relapse and cessation are discussed.