Social Psychology - Cognitive Dissonance

?
What is Festinger's (1957) definition of cognitive dissonance?
The discomfort caused when two cognitions conflict or when behavior conflicts with attitudes
1 of 38
How did Aronson (1969) develop the definition of cognitive dissonance?
Dissonance is most painful when it challenges self-esteem
2 of 38
What is one way to reduce cognitive dissonance?
Changing behavior to align with dissonant cognitions
3 of 38
According to Tesser and Smith's (1980) study, how did students give clues in a word game that was low importance?
They gave easier clues to friends
4 of 38
What does adding new cognitions to justify behavior do to cognitive dissonance?
It aligns attitudes with behavior
5 of 38
Why does understanding cognitive dissonance explain much of human thinking?
Because human thinking is not rational but involves rationalizing
6 of 38
According to Gibbons, Eggleston &Benthin's study, what happened to relapser's perception of health risk after resuming smoking?
It declined significantly
7 of 38
According to Gibbons, Eggleston &Benthin's study, what was the relationship between self-esteem and the decline in risk perception?
High self-esteem relapsers experienced a greater decline in risk perception
8 of 38
What is post-decision dissonance?
Dissonance experienced after making a decision
9 of 38
What is the 'illusion of irrevocability'?
It increases dissonance and the motivation to reduce it
10 of 38
How does lowballing work?
It offers low costs, then claims an error to increase commitment
11 of 38
Why does lowballing work?
It creates excitement and anticipation, leading to increased commitment
12 of 38
What is justification of effort?
The tendency to increase liking for something attained with hard work
13 of 38
What did Jack Brehm's (1956) study reveal about the participants' ratings of the appliances they chose and the one they did not choose?
Participants raised their rating of the chosen appliance and lowered the rating of the other
14 of 38
In the study by Aronson and Mills (1959), what was the screening procedure for the college students joining the discussion group?
One third had a demanding/unpleasant screening, one third had a mildly unpleasant screening, and one third had no screening at all
15 of 38
After participating in the discussion group, how did participants who expended little to no effort rate the experience, according to Aronson and Mills (1959)?
They found the discussion boring and uninteresting
16 of 38
What does Aronson and Mills' (1959) study suggest about the link between effort and dissonance reduction?
Effort increases dissonance reduction, making the goal/object more attractive
17 of 38
According to Jack Brehm's (1956) study, why did participants raise the attractiveness rating of the chosen appliance and lower the rating of the unchosen appliance after receiving their choice?
To minimize dissonance and feel good about their choice
18 of 38
What is external justification according to counter-attitudinal behavior?
A reason for dissonant behavior that resides outside of the individual
19 of 38
When external justifications cannot be found, what is the alternative method for reducing dissonance?
Internal justification
20 of 38
What is counter-attitudinal behavior?
Acting in a way that conflicts with our private beliefs or attitudes
21 of 38
How does engaging in counter-attitudinal behavior with little external justification impact our beliefs?
It causes our beliefs to conform more with the lie
22 of 38
What is insufficient punishment characterized by?
The dissonance caused by lacking sufficient external justification for resisting a desired activity
23 of 38
In Festinger and Carlsmith's (1959) study, what were the participants asked to do after spending an hour performing boring tasks?
Lie about their feelings towards the tasks
24 of 38
What was the main finding regarding the participants' ratings of the tasks in Festinger and Carlsmith's (1959) study?
Participants who were offered $1 rated the tasks as more enjoyable
25 of 38
According to Festinger and Carlsmith's (1959) study, why did participants who were offered $20 rate the tasks as boring, while those offered $1 rated them as more enjoyable?
Those offered $1 had less external justification, so they minimized dissonance
26 of 38
In Aronson and Carlsmith's (1963) study, what were children asked to do after rating the attractiveness of toys?
Rate the toys again after being forbidden to play with one of them
27 of 38
According to Aronson and Carlsmith's (1963) study, how did the children threatened with severe punishment rate the desirability of the forbidden toy?
They rated it as more attractive
28 of 38
What is the main characteristic of hypocrites, as described in the Hypocrisy Paradigm?
They polarize their judgments
29 of 38
In Aronson, Fried, and Stone's (1991) study, what task were the two groups of college students asked to perform?
Compose a speech on the dangers of STDs and encourage condom use
30 of 38
What additional task did half of the students in each group perform in Aronson, Fried, and Stone's (1991) study?
Compose a list of circumstances in which they did not use condoms
31 of 38
According to the results of Aronson, Fried, and Stone's (1991) study, what was the outcome for students in the hypocrisy condition when given the opportunity to buy condoms cheaply?
They were more likely to buy condoms than other groups
32 of 38
What is the main idea of Self-Affirmation Theory?
People can reduce threats to their self-esteem by affirming themselves in areas unrelated to the source of the threat
33 of 38
According to Self-Evaluation Theory and Tesser (1988), what are the three conditions that lead to dissonance in relationships
Feeling close to another person, they are outperforming us in some area, and that area is central to our self-esteem
34 of 38
In Steele, Hoppe, and Gonzales' (1986) study, what were students asked to do regarding ranking record albums?
Rank albums and keep the fifth or sixth ranked album
35 of 38
According to Steele, Hoppe, and Gonzales' (1986) study, how did business majors reduce their dissonance after ranking record albums?
By ranking the one they kept much higher
36 of 38
In Pleban and Tesser's (1981) study, how did college students respond when they competed on general knowledge questions related to their self-esteem, and the other student always performed better?
They reported not wanting to work with the other student in the future
37 of 38
According to Tesser and Smith's (1980) study, how did students give clues in a word game when the task was low in importance?
They gave harder clues to friends
38 of 38

Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

How did Aronson (1969) develop the definition of cognitive dissonance?

Back

Dissonance is most painful when it challenges self-esteem

Card 3

Front

What is one way to reduce cognitive dissonance?

Back

Preview of the front of card 3

Card 4

Front

According to Tesser and Smith's (1980) study, how did students give clues in a word game that was low importance?

Back

Preview of the front of card 4

Card 5

Front

What does adding new cognitions to justify behavior do to cognitive dissonance?

Back

Preview of the front of card 5
View more cards

Comments

No comments have yet been made

Similar Psychology resources:

See all Psychology resources »See all Social Psychology resources »