Journal of Psychology & Psychotherapy
Open Access

Abstract

What we can learn about Psychology from the Maid Narratives: A Case of Cognitive Dissonance

Katherine Stuart van Wormer

This brief paper explores Festinger’s classic theory of cognitive dissonance as a psychological phenomenon that can be applied to situations of social oppression. This framework is discussed in terms of older white women from the U.S. South who grew up with black women who worked as maids in their home under conditions of racial segregation.