APA Dictionary of Psychology

a version of cognitive dissonance theory stating that the effects of inconsistent behavioral outcomes will differ depending on whether they are assessed against a personal standard or a normative standard. This theory is an attempt to explain the differing effects of self-esteem on cognitive dissonance that have been documented in the literature and to integrate aspects of the new-look theory, self-consistency perspective, and self-affirmation theory. [proposed by U.S. psychologists Jeff Stone and Joel Cooper (1943–  )]