Balance theory

[1][2] It conceptualizes the cognitive consistency motive as a drive toward psychological balance.

The consistency motive is the urge to maintain one's values and beliefs over time.

Heider proposed that "sentiment" or liking relationships are balanced if the affect valence in a system multiplies out to a positive result.

Research in 2020 provided neuroscientific evidence supporting Heider's balance theory.

A study using neuroimaging techniques found distinct differences in brain activation when individuals were exposed to unbalanced versus balanced triads.

These differences were observed in brain regions associated with processing cognitive dissonance, offering biological support for Heider's original psychological explanation of balance theory in social context.

[3] Structural balance theory in social network analysis is the extension proposed by Dorwin Cartwright and Frank Harary.

Two positive links and one negative like the example above creates imbalance or cognitive dissonance.

The Person can either: Any of these will result in psychological balance, thus resolving the dilemma and satisfying the drive.

Balance theory is useful in examining how celebrity endorsement affects consumers' attitudes toward products.

Heider's balance theory can explain why holding the same negative attitudes of others promotes closeness.

Dorwin Cartwright and Frank Harary looked at Heider's triads as 3-cycles in a signed graph.

They considered cycles in a signed graph representing a social network.

Harary proved that a balanced graph is polarized, that is, it decomposes into two entirely positive subgraphs that are joined by negative edges.

Claude Flament[12] expressed a limit to balance theory imposed by reconciling weak ties with relationships of stronger force such as family bonds: At the 1975 Dartmouth College colloquium on balance theory, Bo Anderson struck at the heart of the notion:[13]