Last class, we talked about how the Salem witch trials caused the afflicted to be convinced that they were actually witches, despite their innocence. I wanted to point out the psychology of this phenomenon, using one of my favorite communication theories. 

Cognitive dissonance is the guilt an individual feels when there is a difference between attitude and behavior. Humans have a tendency to feel content and justified in their actions when they can agree with their actions on a moral or ethical basis, or attitude. We strive for a consistency between these two things. For example, you feel positive emotions when you volunteer at a charity organization that you believe is good. However, you feel guilty when you steal from a good business, because you believe that stealing is wrong. This is from the dissonance you feel when attitude and behavior are different. 
For decades, communication scholars believed that attitude always determines the behavior. Until, a groundbreaking study found that it can also go the other way around when the reward is not enough to justify the behavior. An example would be that you steal from the store, because the reward is a beautiful diamond necklace that can pay for hospital bills. You still think stealing is wrong (attitude), but you justify the behavior because of the reward to soothe the guilt as a result of the dissonance. However, if you steal little things like gum or candy bars from a large corporation, you start to change your attitude to justify the behavior because the reward is so small. 

This happened at the Salem witch trials with the afflicted girls. The girls felt dissonance because their attitude did not match their behavior. The original attitude would be that they are innocent, morally conscious girls, where lying and falsely accusing others is wrong . Everyone convinced them that the behavior, in this case witchcraft, was true by assuming that they are guilty of being a witch. The behavior is general witchcraft activities, depending on the accusations of the girl. The girls felt a strong guilt when their perceived behavior, that everyone was saying happened, did not match the attitude that they are not actually witches. At this point, it became easier to change their attitude than to defend themselves against the intensity of the accusations and trial process. 

In the confusion and strong emotions as a result of the dissonance, the girls were manipulated into thinking that they are witches, and they participated in the behavior of lying and accusing others. The "reward" is survival at the cost of convicting another innocent girl. Assuming this reward is not high enough to justify the action morally, the girls changed their attitude to believe that they are actually witches and not lying about anything, changing their entire attitude. They believe that the girls that they accuse are also guilty witches. Through this, they close the gap between attitude and behavior to feel better about the situation. 

Years after the tragedy and hysteria, the girls came forward to admit their lies since the "reward" of survival diminished. Others disappeared completely and were never documented again. 

More vulnerable people are prone to this, especially kids where their attitudes are not strongly founded in their experiences yet. This also happened on the show Making a Murderer, so if you are interested in similar situations outside of witchcraft I would highly recommend.