소개
레온 페스팅거(Leon Festinger, 1919년 5월 8일~1989년 2월 11일)는 미국 사회심리학자로서 인지부조화(cognitive dissonance)와 사회비교이론(social comparison theory)으로 잘 알려져 있다. 그의 이론과 연구는 인간의 행동에 대한 자극과 반응을 보여줌으로써 사회 심리학의 지배적인 행동 주의적 견해를 보여준 것이다.
Leon Festinger was an American social psychologist who originated the theory of cognitive dissonance and social comparison theory. The rejection of the previously dominant behaviorist view of social psychology by demonstrating the inadequacy of stimulus-response conditioning accounts of human behavior is largely attributed to his theories and research. Festinger is also credited with advancing the use of laboratory experimentation in social psychology, although he simultaneously stressed the importance of studying real-life situations, a principle he practiced when personally infiltrating a doomsday cult. He is also known in social network theory for the proximity effect.