Cognitive dissonance and the life satisfaction of older adults.

Abstract

This article examines the implications of consistency theory with regard to the life satisfaction of older adults. Pre-and post-retirement interviews with 114 older males in an urban area of central Missouri were subjected to investigation. With the exception of the family area, pre-and post-retirement analysis yielded little support for the consistency hypothesis (i.e., expectational disconfirmation will be accompanied by negative changes in life satisfaction). Instead, some evidence was displayed which indicates the type of disconfirmation to be more central to the explanation of life satisfaction change than disconfirmation per se. In the family, for instance, the more positive the disconfirmation indicated, the more negative the change evidenced in life satisfaction. For voluntary association and community sectors, on the other hand, disconfirmation (both positive and negative) as well as the specific type of disconfirmation bore little relationship to the issue of satisfaction change. The findings do, however, suggest differential “rewards” to characterize the role areas in question.