balance theory

bal·ance the·o·ry

in social psychology, a theory that assumes that steady and unsteady states can be specified for cognitive units (for example, a person and his or her attitudes or acts) and that such units tend to seek steady states (balance); for example, balance exists when both parts of a unit are evaluated the same, but disequilibrium arises when both parts are not evaluated the same, which causes either cognitive reevaluation of the parts or their segregation.
See also: cognitive dissonance theory, consistency principle.

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