Balance theory

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Heider’s Balance Theory: this article will provide an explanation of the Heider’s Balance Theory in a practical way. After reading, you will understand the basic concepts of this powerful model for interpersonal relationships as a form of balance for effective and motivational communication. What is Heider’s Balance Theory? Heider’s Balance Theory, developed by the social psychologist This is how this theory of psychology of motivation explains the balance of cognitive consistency as a scale that the human being develops. Heider explains that likes and dislikes are related to balance and imbalance. Do you want unlimited ad-free access and templates? Find out more The search for coherence between attitudes and relations with others makes the balance neutral, however, when the human being is in disagreement and perceives the imbalance he tends to seek modifications to reach an agreement and thus again to have cognitive harmony of the situation. Heider’s Balance Theory looks at the relationships between elements that people may consider as belonging to the same group and these may offer the balance of unity that is needed so that these relationships are kept in a balance. The reactions of each individual are framed within a triangle that Heider calls the P-O-X Model with which one can deduce the positive and negative from what each person perceives with another or with a certain object. You will be able to visualize it further on with its due examples. Balance (+) Imbalance (...

Posted on October 10, 2015 Updated on October 10, 2015 Sternberg’s Balance Theory of Wisdom is one of the most celebrated models of wisdom to emerge from the field of psychology. It’s practical, it’s clear and it’s all about doing the right thing. Robert Sternberg is somewhat of a titan of American Psychology. A one-time president of the American Psychological Association, he has developed highly respected models on a huge range of topics fundamental to the human experience: intelligence, creativity, even love. And of course, wisdom. Sternberg’s main area of research has always been intelligence and the need to look beyond mere mental abilities and ‘book-smarts’. He even wrote a book in 2003 titled Sternberg’s perspective on intelligence suggests that successful intelligence requires three elements: (1) Creative intelligence – coming up with new ideas (2) Analytical intelligence – reviewing them to see if they have value (3) Practical intelligence – convincing others to adopt and run with them Whilst this broader perspective indicates that there is more to intelligence than simply robust cognitive abilities, Sternberg was still left with unanswered questions. Superior intelligence does not ensure people have a positive impact on the world. Why build an education system around ‘intelligence’ and provide no guidance about how to use that intelligence out in the real world? Tufts University, where Sternberg worked from 2005 to 2010 as the Dean of Arts and Sciences, was the Al...

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Table of Contents • • • • What is Balance Theory? Heider explained that a balance must exist between interpersonal relationships or for something specific between two or more individuals so that psychological harmony can be achieved. If two or more people share similar ideas about something, there is not likely to be any tension or complication surrounding this idea in the relationship. The key notion of balance theory is that certain structures are balanced, whereas others are imbalanced. Balanced structures are usually preferred over imbalanced ones. Imbalanced structures are associated with uncomfortable feelings, and this is what leads people to seek to achieve balance. Heider suggested that ‘likes’ and ‘dislikes’ are related to balance and imbalance. Humans search for consistency between their attitudes and relations with others to make the balance neutral. However, if there is an inconsistency between relations and a perceived imbalance, humans tend to seek modifications to reach consistency and thus cognitive harmony of the situation again. In this way, balance theory describes how humans are motivated to change their attitudes. Heider explained how balance theory works by developing a model which examines interpersonal relationships. The reactions of each individual are framed within a triangle that Heider called the P-O-X model. Each corner of the triangle represents a different element: P = the person to analyze O = Other, or the comparison person X = the third e...

Source: Pixabay / Quangpraha (creative commons) The Importance of Balance and Harmony What comes to mind when you think of well-being? Perhaps health and But what about balance and harmony? These are potentially less obvious, but may be among the most important qualities of all. As I've explored in a 1, balance and harmony (B/H) are not merely relevant to well-being, but a "golden thread" running through its myriad dimensions. As such, an overarching definition of well-being might be the dynamic attainment of optimal balance and harmony in any — and ideally all — aspects of life. This omission may reflect the Western-centric nature of psychology: mostly conducted by and on people from WEIRD places (Western, Educated, Industrialised, Rich, and Democratic) 2, shaped by the values and traditions of the USA in particular. While avoiding crude "East vs. West" comparisons that erase the complex heterogeneity of these regions, B/H have historically been less emphasised or valorised in the West relative (which developed a preference for "linear" analytic modes of 3). By contrast, Eastern cultures have cultivated more holistic, dialectical forms of reasoning, including notions of balancing or harmonising binaries and multiplicities, as exemplified by traditions like Taoism. That said, B/H have not been disregarded in the West or by psychology, historically or currently. Indeed, across academia, many disparate references to B/H can be found. Moreover, B/H may be more universally val...

Balance Theory Definition Balance theory describes the structure of people’s opinions about other individuals and objects as well as the perceived relation between them. The central notion of balance theory is that certain structures between individuals and objects are balanced, whereas other structures are imbalanced, and that balanced structures are generally preferred over imbalanced structures. Specifically, balance theory claims that unbalanced structures are associated with an uncomfortable feeling of negative affect, and that this negative feeling leads people to strive for balanced structures and to avoid imbalanced structures. An example for a balanced structure is when your best friend also likes your favorite rock band; an example for an imbalanced structure is when your best friend dislikes your favorite rock band. According to balance theory, the first case makes you feel good, whereas the second case creates an uncomfortable tension. Theoretical Assumptions The original formulation of balance theory was designed to describe the pattern of relations between three individuals. Such relation patterns between three objects or individuals are often referred to as “triadic” relations. From a general perspective, a triadic relation between three individuals includes (a) the relation between a first person A and a second person O, (b) the relation between the second person O and a third person X, and (c) the relation between the first person A and the third person X ...

Update Table of Contents What is Balance Theory? The Balance Theory, also known as Cognitive Balance, proposed by Heider (1946) is a psychological concept that describes relationships amongst cognitions.. • My friend’s friend is my friend. • My friend’s enemy is my enemy. • My enemy’s friend is my enemy. • My enemy’s enemy is my friend. He depicted liking relationships among a triad: • the Perceiver (P), • the attitude Object (X) and • The Other Person (O). Any resulting combination, whether a perceiver likes a concept or the other person or vice versa, is represented with minus and plus signs. When plus overcomes minus there is balance; in case of an imbalanced relationship the Balance Theory predicts that an attitude change would take place to restore the balance. What are the 8 Configurations of Balance Theory? Balanced: • P+O; P+X; O+X • P+O; P-X; O-X • P-O; P+X; O-X • P-O; P-X; P+X Unbalanced (likely to be turned into the above balanced relationships in order to restore balance): • P+O; P+X; O-X • P+O; P-X; O+X • P-O; P+X; O+X • P-O; P-X; O-X Balance Theory Example A well-known example of Balance Theory is the triadic relationship between Michael Jordan (O), Nike Shoes (X) and the Potential Customer (P). When a Potential Customer likes Michael Jordan (P+O), and Jordan states Nike Shoes are great (O+X), if he doesn’t like Nike Shoes (P-X) he feels uncomfortable and the relationship is imbalanced. Therefore to restore the balance he will change his attitude into (P+X) t...