Question 1

According to the theory of cognitive dissonance,one can make people change their opinions to a greater degree

Accepted Answer

The answer of According to the theory of cognitive dissonance,one...

Question 2

A like or dislike that influences our behavior is called:

Accepted Answer

An attitude refers to a positive or negative evaluation of an object, person, group, or idea, which can influence our behavior towards it. Attitudes can be explicit (conscious) or implicit (unconscious) and can shape our thoughts, feelings, and actions. Therefore, attitudes can have a significant impact on how we perceive and interact with the world around us.

Question 3

According to the theory of cognitive dissonance,which of the following would be most likely to make someone enjoy some boring task?

Accepted Answer

Cognitive dissonance theory suggests that when individuals receive only minimal rewards for engaging in a boring task, they are more likely to change their attitudes about the task to resolve the dissonance between their effort and the low reward. They might convince themselves the task was not so boring or had some intrinsic value, leading to increased enjoyment or satisfaction.

Question 4

Some people intentionally put themselves at a disadvantage on a given task in order to provide themselves with __________ attribution for a possible failure.

Accepted Answer

Intentionally putting oneself at a disadvantage in order to attribute their potential failure to external factors (such as the difficulty of the task) rather than internal factors (such as lack of skill) is known as making an external attribution.

Question 5

A common way of measuring attitudes is to have people check points along a line ranging from 1,meaning "strongly disagree" to 7,meaning "strongly agree." This rating scale is called a __________ scale.

Accepted Answer

A Likert scale is a commonly used rating scale in social science research that measures attitudes or opinions. It consists of a series of statements to which the respondent is asked to indicate the degree to which they agree or disagree by checking a point along a scale. The Likert scale typically ranges from 1 to 7 or 1 to 5, with 1 indicating "strongly disagree" and 7 or 5 indicating "strongly agree." The scale is named after its creator, Rensis Likert.

Question 6

A psychologist plans to measure your attitudes toward environmental protection laws by means of a Likert scale.This means that you will be asked to

Accepted Answer

Likert scales involve making responses on a series of lines or scales that have values, typically ranging from strongly agree to strongly disagree or from very important to not important. This is done in order to measure attitudes or opinions about a given topic. Choices A, B, and D do not describe the Likert scale method.

Question 7

According to the theory of cognitive dissonance,people try to

Accepted Answer

According to the theory of cognitive dissonance, when people have contradictory attitudes or beliefs, they experience a state of tension or discomfort. To reduce this tension, they often try to minimize the conflict between their contradictory attitudes. This can involve changing their beliefs, behaviors, or attitudes to create consistency or changing their interpretation of the situation to create harmony.

Question 8

A Likert scale is commonly used to measure

Accepted Answer

A Likert scale is a psychometric scale commonly used in survey research to measure attitudes or opinions on a specific topic. It involves the presentation of a statement or question and participants are asked to rate their level of agreement or disagreement on a scale (typically 1-5 or 1-7). Therefore, the correct answer is A) attitudes.

Question 9

Experiments on cognitive dissonance suggest that

Accepted Answer

Experiments on cognitive dissonance suggest that it is possible to change people's attitudes by changing their behavior first. This means that if individuals are made to act in a way that contradicts their beliefs or values, they may adjust their attitudes to reduce the feeling of discomfort caused by the inconsistency. This has important implications for influencing behavior change, as it suggests that focusing on changing behavior may be more effective than solely targeting attitudes.

Question 10

The textbook identifies several reasons for why attitudes may not closely relate to behavior.Which of the following is NOT one of the reasons listed?

Accepted Answer

While people may sometimes be dishonest when expressing their attitudes, this is not one of the reasons listed in the textbook for why attitudes may not closely relate to behavior. The other three options (B, C, and D) are all given as possible explanations for this phenomenon.

Question 11

After a political candidate lost badly in an election,the paid political workers were discouraged but the volunteers felt their effort was worthwhile.What psychological principle is probably responsible for the difference in attitudes?

Accepted Answer

Cognitive dissonance explains the difference in attitudes because the volunteers, who were not paid, needed to justify their unpaid efforts and thus were more likely to view their work as worthwhile to reduce the dissonance between their efforts and the outcome.

Question 12

People who are paid a small amount of money for defending a point of view different from their own generally change their opinion more than those who are paid a large amount.One likely explanation is

Accepted Answer

The phenomenon described is cognitive dissonance, which occurs when a person holds two conflicting ideas or beliefs. In this case, the person is paid to defend a viewpoint different from their own, creating cognitive dissonance. They may change their opinion in order to reduce the discomfort caused by the conflict between their beliefs and their behavior. The larger the payment, the more justification they have for their behavior, reducing the need to change their opinion.

Question 13

A basketball game ends with a score of 155-13.The fans who paid to see the game say it was exciting,but those who got in free say it was boring.What psychological principle is probably responsible for the difference in reactions?

Accepted Answer

Cognitive dissonance explains the difference in reactions. Fans who paid are likely justifying their expenditure by viewing the game as more exciting, while those who got in free have no such investment to justify, leading to their honest assessment of the game as boring.

Question 14

Protecting our self-esteem by creating excuses in situations that we expect to do poorly in is called

Accepted Answer

Self-handicapping strategy involves creating excuses or obstacles for ourselves in advance in order to protect our self-esteem in case we do poorly in a situation. This can include things like making excuses for a poor performance or intentionally not trying our best in order to have an excuse if we fail.

Question 15

The term "cognitive dissonance" refers to

Accepted Answer

Cognitive dissonance refers to the discomfort we feel when we hold two or more contradictory beliefs, values, or attitudes, or when our attitudes and behaviors do not align. It is the mental stress or discomfort experienced by a person who holds two or more contradictory beliefs, values, or attitudes. Therefore, option B is the correct answer.

Question 16

An experimenter pays a subject $1 to tell someone else that a particular monotonous,boring task was really interesting.This procedure will probably generate

Accepted Answer

The situation described creates cognitive dissonance for the subject, who is being paid to give a false message that conflicts with their own internal beliefs and attitudes about the task. The subject may experience discomfort and attempt to resolve this dissonance by altering their attitude towards the task or their own behavior.

Question 17

Research on cognitive dissonance suggests that in many cases

Accepted Answer

Cognitive dissonance theory proposes that when people experience conflicting thoughts or beliefs, they will feel discomfort or dissonance. To reduce this discomfort, they may change their attitudes, beliefs, or behaviors. Therefore, one way to change people's attitudes is to first change their behavior, as this will create dissonance and lead to attitude change. For example, if someone is forced to do a task they initially did not want to do, they may change their attitude about the task to reduce the dissonance.

Question 18

What could an experimenter do in order to induce cognitive dissonance?

Accepted Answer

Cognitive dissonance is a state of discomfort that arises from holding two or more conflicting cognitions (e.g., beliefs, attitudes, or behaviors). Offering a small reward for doing something that contradicts one's attitudes can induce cognitive dissonance because the individual must reconcile their action with their conflicting attitude, often leading to a change in attitude to reduce the dissonance.

Question 19

Which of the following is the best reason for why the measurement of an attitude may not correlate strongly with a particular behavior?

Accepted Answer

The measurement of an attitude may not correlate strongly with a particular behavior because many variables other than attitudes can also influence behavior. Attitudes are just one of several factors that can impact behavior, including situational factors, social norms, and individual personality traits. Therefore, even if someone has a strong attitude towards a particular behavior, other factors may come into play that could influence whether or not that person actually engages in that behavior.

Question 20

Suppose Joe is experiencing cognitive dissonance.One way that he could minimize that dissonance is to

Accepted Answer

Cognitive dissonance occurs when a person's beliefs, attitudes, or behaviors conflict with one another. To minimize this dissonance, one strategy is to change some of their attitudes to bring them in line with their actions. This can help to reduce the perceived inconsistency and resolve the dissonance. The other options may not necessarily address the source of the cognitive dissonance and may not be effective in reducing it.

Quiz 13: Social Psychology