Question 1

__________ is to dissonance-induced attitude change as __________ is to no attitude change.

Accepted Answer

The answer of __________ is to dissonance-induced attitude change as...

Question 2

Suppose that both Oscar and Sam went through hazing rituals for the same fraternity. Oscar went through a very long and involved hazing process while Sam went through relatively mild rituals. After they both got into the fraternity, they realized that there were a lot of negative things associated with membership that they hadn't expected. According to cognitive dissonance, which of the following would you expect to happen?

Accepted Answer

Cognitive dissonance theory suggests that individuals who undergo a great deal of effort or discomfort to achieve something are likely to value it more highly, in order to justify the effort they put into obtaining it. Thus, Oscar, who went through a longer and more involved hazing process, would be more likely to love the fraternity more than Sam, who experienced milder rituals.

Question 3

According to the tenets of dissonance theory, when we cannot find sufficient external justification for acts such as saying something we don't truly believe, we will most likely __________.

Accepted Answer

Dissonance theory suggests that when we engage in behavior that goes against our beliefs or attitudes, we experience discomfort or cognitive dissonance. To reduce this discomfort, we seek out internal justifications or reasons to explain our behavior. This can include changing our attitudes or beliefs to align with our behavior, or searching for alternative justifications that make our behavior seem more reasonable or acceptable.

Question 4

Recall that Festinger and Carlsmith (1959) paid participants either $1 or $20 to tell another person that a boring, tedious task was really fun and interesting. The results of their experiment demonstrated that __________.

Accepted Answer

The experiment demonstrated that minimal external justification (i.e. being paid only $1) can lead to attitude change, as participants who were paid $1 reported enjoying the task more than those paid $20.

Question 5

During the Kavadi ritual in the nation of Mauritius, participants engage in either low-ordeal rituals or severe-ordeal rituals, before being asked to donate to their temple. The low-ordeal participants must pray and sing collectively while the severe-ordeal participants are pierced with needles and hooks and must endure pain. When researchers allowed participants to donate to their temple, they found __________.

Accepted Answer

The severe-ordeal participants, who went through greater physical pain, donated more money to the temple compared to those in the low-ordeal group. Therefore, the value of the donation was higher for the severe-ordeal participants when compared to the low-ordeal participants.

Question 6

Janis has just volunteered to undergo treatment for drug addiction. After she leaves the clinic, she is __________ to stay off drugs because her recovery at the clinic was __________.

Accepted Answer

Janis's decision to undergo treatment shows a willingness and motivation to overcome her addiction, increasing the likelihood of success in staying off drugs. However, addiction recovery is a challenging and ongoing process, so it is likely to be difficult for her.

Question 7

As you and your friends return home and meet up for the first time since high school, you find that you've all taken different paths in life. Based on cognitive dissonance and the principle of justification of effort, who would be the LEAST satisfied with what he or she is currently doing?

Accepted Answer

According to the principle of justification of effort, the more effort a person puts into achieving a goal, the more they will value that goal. Fiona has not put in much effort to be where she is currently, as she has a loose admissions policy and her parents are paying her way. Therefore, she may be the least satisfied with what she is currently doing.

Question 8

Jorge has just undergone a three-week initiation process to become a member of a fraternity. During the initiation, he was made to do such things as shave his head, run naked through the cafeteria, and sing obnoxious fraternity songs during classes. Jorge now considers the fraternity the best thing that's ever happened to him and is convinced that his fraternity brothers are friends for life. Jorge's attitude towards his fraternity is probably the result of __________.

Accepted Answer

Jorge's attitude towards his fraternity is likely the result of justification of effort, where he values the fraternity more highly because of the effort he put into becoming a member. This is evidenced by his belief that his fraternity brothers are friends for life, which suggests a strong attachment to the group. This concept is supported by research showing that people tend to value something more highly if they had to put in effort to obtain it.

Question 9

When our behaviors are inconsistent with our values or beliefs, we are NOT likely to experience cognitive dissonance if __________.

Accepted Answer

When we can justify our inconsistent behavior with external factors, such as pressure from others or situational factors beyond our control, we are less likely to experience cognitive dissonance. This is because we can attribute the inconsistency to factors outside of our own beliefs and values.

Question 10

When people state publicly an opinion that is at odds with their own private attitudes, they are engaging in __________.

Accepted Answer

Counterattitudinal advocacy refers to publicly expressing an opinion or attitude that contradicts one's private beliefs or attitudes. This behavior often occurs in response to external pressure or the desire to fit in with a particular group. It can lead to cognitive dissonance and the need to justify the behavior or attitude.

Question 11

Two weeks after making a public statement at odds with his previous position, which politician is most likely to report to his close friends that he sticks by his most recent (contradictory) statement?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Two weeks after making a public statement...

Question 12

Recall that Festinger and Carlsmith (1959) paid participants either $1 or $20 to tell someone else that a tedious, boring task was really interesting. Participants paid __________ modified their original attitudes because they had __________ for lying.

Accepted Answer

Participants paid $1 modified their original attitudes because they had little external justification for lying. This is based on cognitive dissonance theory, which suggests that when individuals have insufficient external justification for their actions, they experience discomfort (dissonance) and are more likely to change their internal attitudes to align with their behaviors.

Question 13

Your friend Jamie shows you the gift she bought for her mother's birthday. It's an atrociously ugly fake marble statue of an angel, with the saccharine words "My Mother's an Angel" sloppily lettered on the bottom. Jamie asks you what you think, and because her feelings are easily hurt, to spare her, you say, "It's wonderful! Maybe I'll get one for my mom!" In this case, you __________ experience dissonance because there is sufficient __________ justification for your action.

Accepted Answer

Dissonance occurs when there is a conflict between our attitudes and behaviors. In this scenario, the individual may not experience dissonance because they do not necessarily have a strong negative attitude towards the statue, and their behavior of complimenting Jamie's gift has an external justification (not wanting to hurt Jamie's feelings). Therefore, there is no significant conflict between their attitude and behavior to cause dissonance. Choice D is the best answer as it reflects this reasoning.

Question 14

In the aftermath of a dissonant behavior, people often change something about themselves as a means of reducing cognitive dissonance. This is known as __________.

Accepted Answer

Internal justification refers to changing something about oneself, such as attitudes or beliefs, to reduce cognitive dissonance after engaging in a behavior that goes against those attitudes or beliefs. This is a common way for individuals to resolve their discomfort when their behavior clashes with their values or beliefs. The other options - overjustification effect, external justification, and postdecision regret - are all related to cognitive dissonance but refer to specific concepts within the theory.

Question 15

Which of the following social psychology concepts is most closely related to the idea that "saying is believing"?

Accepted Answer

Counterattitudinal advocacy is the idea that if a person publicly expresses an attitude or belief that goes against their private belief, they may come to believe the public statement over time. This is often referred to as "saying is believing."

Question 16

Phil spent an hour and a half running cables and toying with connections in order to receive cable TV in his room. When he was finished, he got fifty channels, but all of them were kind of fuzzy. His roommate, Jason, arrived home when Phil was done, and they both sat down to watch TV. Which one will enjoy the cable TV the most?

Accepted Answer

Phil is likely to enjoy the cable TV more because of the justification of effort, a phenomenon where people tend to attribute a higher value to outcomes they've put effort into achieving, even if the result is not optimal.

Question 17

If a person goes through a demanding process involving lots of effort and hard work to achieve a goal, what would cognitive dissonance suggest that person will think about the experience afterwards?

Accepted Answer

According to cognitive dissonance theory, people experience mental discomfort when their beliefs and actions are not consistent. In this situation, the person would likely experience cognitive dissonance if they put in a lot of effort and hard work to achieve a goal but did not think it was worth it in the end. Therefore, the person is likely to think that going through all of that effort was worth it to reduce the dissonance. Choices A, B, and D are not consistent with cognitive dissonance theory.

Question 18

Who is most likely to enjoy a boring and lackluster rock-and-roll concert performed by washed-up, fiftysomething "has-beens"?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Who is most likely to enjoy a...

Question 19

Which of the following people is using an internal justification to reduce dissonance?

Accepted Answer

Terri is using internal justification to reduce dissonance by changing her attitude to align with her behavior, which is a key aspect of cognitive dissonance theory.

Question 20

People are unlikely to change their attitudes after saying something they don't truly believe if there is __________ for the lie.

Accepted Answer

External justification refers to a situation in which a person modifies their behavior or attitude due to external reasons or incentives such as a reward or avoiding punishment. In the context of the question, if there is external justification for the lie such as a reward for saying it, people are more likely to change their attitudes even if they don't truly believe in what they said.

Quiz 6: Cognitive Dissonance and the Need to Protect Our Self-Esteem

is to dissonance-induced attitude change as is to no attitude change.