Question 1

Karen smokes two packs of cigarettes a day. However, she is aware that smoking is harmful to her health; therefore, she holds two conflicting or dissonant thoughts. If Karen were to reduce her cognitive dissonance by reducing the amount of her perceived choice, she might say to herself,

Accepted Answer

Reducing the amount of perceived choice involves convincing oneself that there is little or no alternative to the current behavior. By saying "Smoking is a habit that I have little control over," Karen is reducing her cognitive dissonance by suggesting she doesn't have much choice in her smoking behavior, rather than directly addressing the dissonance between her action and the knowledge of its harm.

Question 2

The degree to which a person's actions are explained by rewards or other circumstances is called

Accepted Answer

The answer of The degree to which a person's actions...

Question 3

In Festinger's classic experiment, college students did an extremely boring task for a long time. Afterward, they were asked to help lure others into the experiment by pretending that the task was interesting and enjoyable. Later they were asked their opinion of the task. Those paid $20 for luring more participants

Accepted Answer

CIn Festinger's experiment, those who were paid $20 did not change their opinion about the task and still thought it was boring because the high reward justified their action of lying, thus reducing cognitive dissonance. However, they also experienced cognitive dissonance because of the inconsistency between their actions (saying the task was interesting) and their true feelings (finding the task boring), but this dissonance was mitigated by the external justification of receiving $20.

Question 4

Changes in a person's behavior induced by the presence or actions of others is known as

Accepted Answer

Social influence occurs when an individual's emotions, opinions, or behaviors are affected by others. This can happen through direct interaction or indirectly through social norms and media.

Question 5

In Festinger's classic experiment, college students did an extremely boring task for a long time. Afterward, they were asked to help lure others into the experiment by pretending that the task was interesting and enjoyable. Later they were asked their opinion of the task. Those paid $20 for luring more participants did not change their attitude because they

Accepted Answer

Those paid $20 experienced no cognitive dissonance because the high reward provided sufficient external justification for their actions, negating the need to change their internal attitudes to align with their behavior.

Question 6

Cognitive dissonance is usually strongest when the reward or justification is

Accepted Answer

Cognitive dissonance is usually strongest when the reward or justification for an action is small. This is because when the external justification for an action is minimal, individuals are more likely to change their internal beliefs to align with their actions, leading to a stronger experience of cognitive dissonance.

Question 7

Conformity, obedience, and compliance are all examples of

Accepted Answer

Conformity, obedience, and compliance are behaviors that individuals exhibit as a result of social influence, where they adapt their actions or thoughts to align with those of a group or authority figure.

Question 8

In Festinger's classic experiment, college students did an extremely boring task for a long time. Afterward, they were asked to help lure others into the experiment by pretending that the task was interesting and enjoyable. Later they were asked their opinion of the task. Those paid $1 for luring more participants

Accepted Answer

Festinger's experiment is a classic example of cognitive dissonance theory. Participants paid only $1 experienced dissonance between the action of lying for a small amount and their dislike of the task. To resolve this dissonance, they altered their attitude about the task, convincing themselves it was more enjoyable than they initially thought.

Question 9

The five major forms of social influence listed in order of intensity from gentlest to strongest are

Accepted Answer

The correct order from gentlest to strongest forms of social influence is: mere presence (the most subtle form, where simply the presence of others can influence behavior), conformity (changing behavior to match that of others), compliance (changing behavior in response to a request), obedience (changing behavior in response to a command), and coercion (using force or threats to make someone change their behavior).

Question 10

In the sidewalk experiment, various numbers of people stood on a busy New York City street and, on cue, began looking at a sixth-floor window across the street. Soon many of the people walking on the street stopped and looked up at the window. This experiment illustrates

Accepted Answer

The sidewalk experiment demonstrates social influence, as it shows how the actions of a group can influence the behavior of individuals around them, leading them to also look up without knowing why.

Question 11

Karen smokes two packs of cigarettes a day. However, she is aware that smoking is harmful to her health; therefore, she holds two conflicting or dissonant thoughts. If Karen were to reduce her cognitive dissonance by changing her behavior, she might

Accepted Answer

Changing behavior to reduce cognitive dissonance involves taking action to align actions with beliefs or attitudes. In this case, deciding to smoke only when stressed is a change in behavior that reduces the conflict between knowing smoking is harmful and the act of smoking.

Question 12

In Festinger's classic experiment, the college students who experienced NO cognitive dissonance and who did not change their attitude about the experiment and still thought "it was boring" were the students who

Accepted Answer

In Festinger's classic experiment on cognitive dissonance, the students who were paid $20 to lie about the experiment being interesting did not experience cognitive dissonance and did not change their attitude about the experiment being boring. This is because the high amount of money ($20) was a sufficient external justification for lying, so their internal beliefs did not need to change to align with their actions.

Question 13

If you do something contrary to your beliefs or attitudes, you will experience the MOST cognitive dissonance when the amount of reward or justification for your actions is

Accepted Answer

Cognitive dissonance is a state of discomfort that arises from holding two conflicting beliefs or attitudes, especially when one's actions contradict those beliefs. When the reward or justification for acting against one's beliefs is low, the dissonance is higher because there is less external justification for the contradiction, making it harder to reconcile the conflict internally.

Question 14

Changing one's behavior just because other people are nearby is the gentlest form of social influence and is called

Accepted Answer

The mere presence effect refers to the phenomenon where individuals change their behavior simply because other people are nearby, even without any direct interaction or explicit pressure from those people. This is considered the most subtle form of social influence.

Question 15

In Festinger's classic experiment, college students did an extremely boring task for a long time. Afterward, they were asked to help lure others into the experiment by pretending that the task was interesting and enjoyable. Later they were asked their opinion of the task. Those paid $1 for luring more participants experienced a great deal of

Accepted Answer

Festinger's experiment is a classic example of cognitive dissonance theory in action. The participants who were paid only $1 experienced dissonance because the small reward was not sufficient to justify lying about the task being enjoyable. To resolve this dissonance, they likely altered their perception of the task to be more positive, aligning their beliefs with their actions.

Question 16

Karen smokes two packs of cigarettes a day. However, she is aware that smoking is harmful to her health; therefore, she holds two conflicting or dissonant thoughts. If Karen were to reduce her cognitive dissonance by changing her attitude, she might say to herself,

Accepted Answer

Reducing cognitive dissonance by changing one's attitude involves justifying the behavior or downplaying the negative aspects of it. Saying "Smoking really is not that dangerous" is an example of changing the attitude to make it more consistent with the behavior, thereby reducing the dissonance.

Question 17

In Festinger's classic experiment, the college students who originally said the task was boring but changed their attitude about the boring task and said "it was interesting" were the ones that

Accepted Answer

In Festinger's classic experiment on cognitive dissonance, the college students who were paid $1 to lie about the boring task were more likely to change their attitude and say it was interesting. This is because the lower amount of money ($1) was not enough to justify their lying, leading them to change their attitude to reduce the dissonance between their actions and beliefs. Those paid $20 had an external justification for their lie, so they felt less need to change their internal attitudes.

Question 18

Which of the following is considered the gentlest form of social influence?

Accepted Answer

Mere presence refers to the subtle and often unintentional influence people have on each other's behavior simply by being in each other's physical presence, without any direct interaction or explicit pressure to change. This is considered the gentlest form of social influence because it does not involve any overt persuasion, coercion, or explicit social pressure.

Question 19

In the sidewalk experiment, various numbers of people stood on a busy New York City street and, on cue, began looking at a sixth-floor window across the street. Soon many of the people walking on the street stopped and looked up at the window. Which of the following factors tended to sway the most people to stop and look up at the window?

Accepted Answer

A larger influencing group tends to sway the most people to stop and look up at the window. This is because the presence of a larger group looking in the same direction can create a social proof effect, where individuals assume there is something worth paying attention to based on the actions of the larger group.

Question 20

When people interact, they almost always affect each other's behavior. This illustrates social

Accepted Answer

Social influence occurs when one's emotions, opinions, or behaviors are affected by others, which is exactly what happens when people interact and affect each other's behavior.

Quiz 16: Social Thinking and Social Influence