Question 1

Based on research by Aronson and Carlsmith (1963) in which children were threatened with either mild or severe punishment for playing with a forbidden toy, which of the following situations would make a child most want to play with a toy?

Accepted Answer

Aronson and Carlsmith's research found that when children were threatened with severe punishment for playing with a forbidden toy, they were more likely to want to play with it. Therefore, forbidding the child from playing with the toy and threatening severe punishment if he does would be the situation in which the child would most want to play with the toy.

Question 2

If you wanted to make use of the concept of insufficient punishment, how would you discipline your child when she's misbehaving? Give the child a stern look and tell her

Accepted Answer

In order to make use of the concept of insufficient punishment, the discipline should be minimal and not overly harsh. Giving a stern look and promising a reward if the child stops the misbehavior can be more effective than threatening physical punishment or limiting chances to improve behavior. Option B offers a simple and straightforward solution to the misbehavior that is not overly harsh, making it the best choice.

Question 3

Too late, your neighbor discovered that he couldn't flush his toilet.He has asked you to come help him unstop his plugged toilet.It's not a task that you look forward to, but you come over to help.Based on the psychology of insufficient justification, you'd be most likely to change your attitudes about fixing broken plumbing if you helped

Accepted Answer

When you help someone like Ben, who has wronged you, without sufficient external justification, you are more likely to change your attitude to reduce cognitive dissonance.

Question 4

According to the principle of insufficient punishment, which of the following parental techniques should be most effective in changing a child's behavior permanently (i.e., even behavior that occurs in the absence of the parent)?

Accepted Answer

According to the principle of insufficient punishment, when punishment is too severe, it can result in the child hiding the behavior rather than changing it permanently, and when punishment is too mild or non-existent, the child may not feel motivated to change their behavior. Therefore, the threat of mild punishment should be the most effective in changing a child's behavior permanently as it provides enough motivation for the child to want to avoid the punishment, but not so much that it causes fear or hiding of the behavior. Ignoring the behavior may actually reinforce it by giving the child attention, while the threat of severe punishment can lead to fear and hiding of the behavior.

Question 5

According to your authors, threats of severe punishment ultimately teach people

Accepted Answer

Severe punishment often leads individuals to focus on avoiding detection rather than internalizing the reasons for following rules.

Question 6

________ refers to long-lasting attitude change that arises from attempts to reduce cognitive dissonance.

Accepted Answer

Self-persuasion refers to the process of attempting to persuade oneself to change a belief or attitude in order to reduce cognitive dissonance. This can lead to long-lasting attitude change.

Question 7

Recall that Aronson and Carlsmith (1963) told preschoolers that they were not allowed to play with a toy that the children had already rated as more attractive than other toys.Half of the children were threatened with mild punishment if they disobeyed, and the other half with severe punishment.When the experimenter left the room, none of the children played with the forbidden toy.When the experimenter returned and asked the children to rate all the toys again, those children who received

Accepted Answer

According to the results of the study, the preschoolers who were threatened with mild punishment reduced their dissonance by rating the forbidden toy as less attractive than before. This indicates that they changed their attitudes to align with their behavior of not playing with the toy, in order to reduce the discomfort of cognitive dissonance.

Question 8

Michael and Pam are friends, but have never dated.Michael wants to ask Pam out on a date, with the hope that she will think of him as more than just a friend.Based on research on external justification and dissonance theory, under which of the following conditions will Pam like Michael the most?

Accepted Answer

According to dissonance theory, Pam will experience cognitive dissonance if she accepts an invitation to a place she doesn't like, leading her to justify her decision by increasing her liking for Michael.

Question 9

Derek likes to bully his little brother Matt.Their mother begins to give Derek the mild punishment of a stern look every time Derek hits Matt.This is sufficient to stop Derek's bullying, and in time, Derek stops bullying Matt even when his mother is not around.According to theories of insufficient punishment, why might this happen?

Accepted Answer

The theory of insufficient punishment suggests that when the external punishment for an undesirable behavior is mild (insufficient), individuals do not have enough external justification for changing their behavior. Instead, they may change their internal attitudes to align with their behavior. In Derek's case, the mild punishment (a stern look) did not provide a strong external reason to stop bullying. Therefore, to resolve the internal dissonance, Derek might have internally devalued the act of bullying, leading to a genuine change in behavior.

Question 10

Mahmoud wants his seven-year-old daughter to learn that littering is bad.According to cognitive dissonance theory, how should Mahmoud teach his daughter not to be a litterbug? Mahmoud should

Accepted Answer

According to cognitive dissonance theory, individuals experience mental discomfort when they hold contradictory beliefs or engage in behaviors that are inconsistent with their attitudes. By giving his daughter a stern look, Mahmoud is providing her with negative feedback for littering, which creates dissonance between her behavior and her belief that littering is bad. Eventually, she may change her behavior to be consistent with her belief that littering is bad in order to reduce the discomfort caused by the dissonance. Giving rewards, such as ice cream or increased allowance, can lead to a different type of reinforcement that is contrary to the goal of reducing littering behavior. Yelling and screaming may also have negative effects, causing fear or rebellion in the child.

Question 11

Jan and Michelle would both like to ride a motorcycle.Jan's parents explicitly prohibit her from riding a motorcycle and tell her that she'll be grounded should she choose to disobey them.Michelle's parents express their concern for her safety and tell her that they would be very disappointed if she decided to take a ride.According to dissonance theory, two months after the warnings, who would be more likely to ride a motorcycle if given the opportunity?

Accepted Answer

According to dissonance theory, when individuals experience a conflict between their attitudes and behavior, they experience cognitive dissonance. This uncomfortable feeling can be reduced by changing one's attitudes or behavior to be more consistent with the other. In this situation, Jan's parents explicitly prohibit her from riding a motorcycle, creating dissonance when she wants to ride. If given the opportunity, she may be more likely to ride to reduce this uncomfortable feeling. On the other hand, Michelle's parents merely express concern, which may not create as much dissonance and therefore may not affect her decision as strongly.

Question 12

Willow's mother took away her television privileges as punishment for missing her curfew when the punishment could have been much more severe, such as being grounded for a week and losing access to her cell phone.Why is Willow's mother using insufficient punishment, according to dissonance theory?

Accepted Answer

According to dissonance theory, when individuals experience cognitive dissonance (conflict between their beliefs and behaviors), they will try to reduce it by changing their attitudes or behaviors. In Willow's case, if her mother had imposed a severe punishment, there would have been sufficient external justification for her behavior (missing curfew) and Willow would not have experienced cognitive dissonance. By using insufficient punishment (taking away television privileges), Willow is more likely to experience cognitive dissonance and devalue the forbidden activity (missing curfew) to reduce the discomfort caused by the conflict. Therefore, choice C is the best answer.

Question 13

Because they provide the potential offender ________, threats of harsh punishment seldom produce positive attitude change.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Because they provide the potential offender ________,...

Question 14

In a variation of the "forbidden toy" experiment by Aronson and Carlsmith (1963), another researcher issued mild and severe threats to prevent children from playing with a very attractive toy.Several weeks later, a woman came to the school, allegedly to administer tests to the children.When she left the room to score the tests, children were left alone with the same attractive toy and other less attractive toys.Almost 80 percent of the children who were issued severe threats by the researcher played with the attractive toy; only 30 percent of those children issued mild threats succumbed to temptation.This experiment is noteworthy because it demonstrated that

Accepted Answer

The answer of In a variation of the "forbidden toy"...

Question 15

According to dissonance theorists, the practice of threatening mild punishment works because it arouses ________ cognitive dissonance and therefore causes ________.

Accepted Answer

Dissonance theorists believe that threatening mild punishment arouses significant cognitive dissonance because the individual must reconcile their desire to perform the forbidden act with the potential negative consequences. This cognitive dissonance leads to a change in attitude toward the forbidden act to reduce the discomfort caused by the conflicting thoughts and beliefs. Therefore, the best choice is C, much cognitive dissonance and a change in attitude toward the forbidden act.

Question 16

Threats of severe punishment are NOT likely to change behaviors in the absence of the person who punishes, because such severe threats provide

Accepted Answer

Threats of severe punishment often lead to external justification for halting undesirable behavior, meaning individuals might only avoid the behavior to escape punishment rather than internalizing the reasons for not engaging in it. When the threat or the person who can enforce the punishment is not present, the behavior is likely to resume because the internal motivation to change has not been established.

Question 17

The new governor hires you to devise a plan to stop bullying in the schools.Based on the principle of insufficient punishment, what might be a good way to punish bullies?

Accepted Answer

The principle of insufficient punishment suggests that punishments should be strong enough to discourage the behavior but not so severe as to be cruel or inhumane. Option A (dismissal for the day) may not be a significant punishment for some students, and option B (expulsion and juvenile detention) could be seen as too harsh for some situations, potentially leading to legal complications. Option C (physical punishment) is illegal and unconstitutional. Option D, consistently implementing a mild punishment, may be the best approach as it provides a consequence for the behavior without being overly severe, and it reinforces the message that bullying will not be tolerated. Consistency is also key in sending the message that bullying is not acceptable.

Question 18

Jennifer's dad wants to convince her to do her homework as soon as she gets home from school.To ensure that Jennifer actually does her homework immediately-whether or not he is there to keep an eye on her-Jennifer's dad should provide

Accepted Answer

Mild threats of punishment can be an effective motivator for behavior change without creating a high-stress environment or relying on external rewards that may not always motivate in the long term.

Question 19

When preschoolers were forbidden to play with a very attractive toy, some received mild threats of punishment, and others received severe threats of punishment should they disobey (Aronson & Carlsmith, 1963).Because they had ________ justification, children in the mild threat condition experienced ________ dissonance, and changed their rating of the forbidden toy.

Accepted Answer

Children in the mild-threat condition had insufficient external justification for not playing with the toy, leading to more cognitive dissonance. To reduce this dissonance, they devalued the forbidden toy more than those who received severe threats and had ample external justification for their compliance.

Question 20

The local police want to convince drivers to obey the fifty-five mile per hour speed limit on the highways.The police chief is convinced that doubling speeding fines is the answer.You've just read the section of Chapter 6 that deals with insufficient punishment.What would you say to him?

Accepted Answer

The section of Chapter 6 deals with insufficient punishment, which suggests that simply increasing fines may not be effective in changing behavior. It is important to consider other factors such as enforcement, education, and incentives to encourage drivers to obey the speed limit. Therefore, option A is the best choice as it acknowledges that increasing fines alone may not be effective.

Quiz 6: The Need to Justify Our Actions: the Costs and Benefits of Dissonance Reduction