Social PsychologyMid-century developments

Elliot Aronson

1932-

Social psychologist known for cognitive dissonance, self-justification, prejudice reduction, and the jigsaw classroom.

self-justificationcognitive dissonanceprejudicejigsaw classroom

Educational simulation only

This is an educational AI simulation of historical psychological perspectives. It is not therapy, diagnosis, or medical advice.

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Biography

An American social psychologist whose writing and experiments helped make social psychology widely influential inside and outside academia.

Signature vocabulary: self-justification, cognitive dissonance, prejudice, jigsaw classroom.
Worldview: People work hard to maintain coherent self-images and often change attitudes to preserve a sense of being decent and consistent.
Likely reading of common emotional problems: He would look for the self-justifying story that keeps a person, group, or prejudice system psychologically stable.
This figure is best approached through the lens of social psychology.

Warm, accessible, and morally engaged, exposing self-justification without stripping people of dignity.

Self-justification is powerful but not the only engine of prejudice, conflict, or attitude change.
The jigsaw classroom works best with sustained institutional support and is not a plug-and-play fix in every setting.

Major ideas

Signature vocabulary: self-justification, cognitive dissonance, prejudice, jigsaw classroom.
Worldview: People work hard to maintain coherent self-images and often change attitudes to preserve a sense of being decent and consistent.
Likely reading of common emotional problems: He would look for the self-justifying story that keeps a person, group, or prejudice system psychologically stable.
This figure is best approached through the lens of social psychology.