Testing Cognitive Dissonance as a Mechanism Behind Compensatory Behaviors in the Context of Heavy College Drinking
Open AccessCompensatory behaviors (i.e., actions that are enacted with the intention to negate the effects of unhealthy behaviors) can be deleterious, because they may perpetuate unhealthy behaviors. However, no studies had empirically tested why compensatory behaviors are used. Based on a framework informed by an integration of the Compensatory Health Belief Model (CHBM) and hypocrisy induction literature, it was hypothesized that compensatory behaviors are used as a dissonance-reduction strategy. The use of compensatory behaviors as a dissonance-reduction strategy was tested with an experimental design, in the context of college drinking. Two-hundred and thirteen heavy drinking female college students were randomly assigned to an experimental (n = 103) or control (n = 110) condition. Experimental participants were exposed to a manipulation designed to induce dissonance by making the calories that they consumed during their most recent heavy drinking episode salient. Control participants skipped the manipulation. It was hypothesized that the manipulation would cause higher intentions to compensate for calories consumed in drinks (compensatory intentions), indirectly through two indicators of cognitive dissonance: negative affect and perceived distance from goals. An additional aim of the study was to identify which of the offered compensatory intentions was affected by the manipulation. It was hypothesized that experimental (vs. control) participants would report higher intentions to compensate by dieting, exercising, and drinking lower-calorie alcoholic beverages in the future. However, it was uncertain if intentions to reduce alcohol use would be affected by the manipulation, given that studies on compensatory behaviors show that intentions to compensate for alcohol use increase future use. Another aim of the current study was to evaluate three potential moderators in the mediation pathway between the manipulation and compensatory intentions: subjective goal importance, self-efficacy, and compensatory health beliefs. All were hypothesized to strengthen the mediation pathway. Results showed that those in the experimental (vs. control) condition reported significantly higher levels of negative affect. Perceived distance from goals was unaffected by the experimental manipulation. Further, indirectly through negative affect, experimental (vs. control) participants reported higher intentions to drinking lower-calorie drinks and reduce alcohol use in the future, but not diet nor exercise. Findings suggest that the manipulation inspired a more affective, not cognitive-based, dissonance, and participants endorsed the intentions that most directly addressed the cause of the dissonance: calories consumed from alcohol. None of the three hypothesized moderators of the mediation pathway were statistically significant. However, participants’ tendency to report higher self-efficacy and compensatory health beliefs regarding alcohol behaviors (compared to dieting and exercise) may further explain the significant effects of the manipulation on the intentions to reduce alcohol use and drink lower calorie drinks. Overall, the current study suggests that compensatory intentions are used as a dissonance-reduction strategy, and that participants preferred to endorse behaviors that would most directly address the cause of the dissonance, that they felt capable to enact, and would effectively counteract the calories from drinking. Findings offer important implications for alcohol use interventions, for example that there might be benefits to calorie salience interventions. However, the findings should be applied with caution, given that compensatory behaviors were not measured, and students who have been diagnosed with an eating disorder were excluded for participation. Future directions should include longitudinal designs to better understand the functioning and effects of compensatory behaviors, as well as dissonance-inducing alcohol interventions utilizing a more classic hypocrisy induction paradigm, and motives besides compensation for calories consumed.
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