Question 1

The "new look" model of cognitive dissonance postulates 4 steps that must occur for people to experience and attempt to reduce cognitive dissonance.Which of the following was NOT mentioned as one of those steps?

Accepted Answer

Feeling little guilt is not a necessary step in the "new look" model of cognitive dissonance. The other three steps listed (perceiving personal responsibility, perceiving negative consequences, and attributing discomfort to behavior) are all part of the model.

Question 2

The specificity,personal relevance,and accessibility of an attitude does not appear to be important for predicting behavior.

Accepted Answer

The specificity, personal relevance, and accessibility of an attitude are important factors in predicting behavior. Attitudes that are specific to the behavior, personally relevant, and easily accessible are more likely to guide behavior.

Question 3

The statement that taking vitamins is good for your health represents the cognitive component of an attitude.

Accepted Answer

The statement represents a belief or a thought about vitamins, which is the cognitive component of an attitude.

Question 4

Jerry has been watching news stories about terrorist attacks all week which means that he will likely think about terrorism and terrorists more often.

Accepted Answer

The statement suggests that Jerry's exposure to news stories about terrorist attacks may increase his cognitive awareness and attention towards terrorism and terrorists. Therefore, it is likely that he will think about them more often.

Question 5

Jill is trying to decide between a red prom dress that she really likes and a black prom dress that she also really likes.Even though she likes both dresses about the same,she decides to choose the red dress.Now she feels the red dress was actually a better choice and that it looks much better on her than the black dress.Which of the following ideas best accounts for her change in opinion?

Accepted Answer

Post-decisional dissonance explains why Jill's opinion changed after making her decision. She may have felt some cognitive dissonance, or discomfort, after choosing the red dress over the black dress. To reduce this dissonance, she may have convinced herself that the red dress was actually a better choice and looked better on her. This change in opinion helps her to feel more comfortable with her decision and reduces her discomfort.

Question 6

If we experience some form of reinforcement for a behavior,our attitude should get more positive toward that behavior.

Accepted Answer

This statement is consistent with the principle of operant conditioning, which suggests that behaviors that are followed by reinforcement are more likely to be repeated in the future. As a result, attitudes toward those behaviors should become more positive over time.

Question 7

Which of the following factors does a researcher need to take into consideration if she wants to be able to predict participants' behaviors?

Accepted Answer

To accurately predict participants' behaviors, a researcher would need to consider all three factors—specificity, personal relevance, and accessibility—of the attitude. Specificity refers to how accurately an attitude applies to the behavior in question, personal relevance refers to how much the attitude matters to the person, and accessibility refers to how easily the attitude comes to the person's mind. Considering all three factors will help the researcher make more accurate predictions about behavior.

Question 8

Festinger and Carlsmith (1959)asked participants to perform a boring task and then paid them either $20 or $1 to lie to the next participant,telling them that the task was enjoyable.Afterwards they asked participants to rate how much they liked the task.Participants who received $1 rated the task as more enjoyable than participants who received $20.What has been proposed as a likely reason for this result?

Accepted Answer

This result can be explained by Festinger's cognitive dissonance theory, which suggests that when people experience conflicting beliefs or behaviors, they feel psychological discomfort, or dissonance. In this study, participants who were paid $1 to lie about enjoying the task had insufficient justification for their behavior, leading to dissonance. To eliminate the dissonance, they changed their attitudes to match their behavior and reported liking the task more. On the other hand, participants who were paid $20 had sufficient external justification for their behavior, and therefore did not experience dissonance, leading to no attitude change about the task. Thus, choice C is the best answer.

Question 9

Research suggests that an attitudinal shift as a result of cognitive dissonance is much more likely to occur when the counterattitudinal behavior is conducted in front of others.This finding supports which of the following statements?

Accepted Answer

The research finding suggests that people may be more concerned with appearing consistent in the eyes of others than with actually being consistent. This supports choice A, which implies that people are more concerned with external perceptions of their attitudes than with their personal beliefs and consistency. Choice B is partially supported by the research finding, but the emphasis is on external factors rather than internal consistency. Choice C is not supported by the research finding, as it implies that people are never concerned with consistency between attitudes and behavior. Choice D is a general statement, but the research finding shows that there may be instances where attitudes and behavior do not match due to cognitive dissonance.

Question 10

Attitudes,social norms,and perceived behavioral control comprise.
components of self-affirmation theory.

Accepted Answer

These are components of the Theory of Planned Behavior, not self-affirmation theory.

Question 11

Festinger and Carlsmith (1959)asked participants to perform a boring task and then paid them either 20 dollars or 1 dollar to lie to the next participant by telling them that the study was enjoyable.Afterwards they asked participants to rate how much they liked the task.The 'surprising' finding from Festinger and Carlsmith's study was:

Accepted Answer

The participants paid $1 reported liking the task more than those paid $20 because of cognitive dissonance. They could not justify lying for just $1 unless they convinced themselves the task was more enjoyable, thus reducing the dissonance between their actions and beliefs.

Question 12

Positive punishment involves adding an undesirable stimulus in order to increase a behavior.

Accepted Answer

Positive punishment involves adding an aversive stimulus in order to decrease a behavior, not increase it. Positive reinforcement involves adding a desirable stimulus to increase a behavior.

Question 13

Which theory suggests that,in the face of threat,people will try to restore their self-worth by reaffirming their values?

Accepted Answer

Self-affirmation theory suggests that when people face a threat to their self-worth or identity, they will try to restore their self-esteem by affirming their values and positive self-attributes. This can be achieved through a variety of methods, such as listing one's strengths and accomplishments, engaging in behaviors that align with one's values, or reflecting on past successes. This theory is often used in interventions aimed at reducing resistance to health behaviors or other challenging situations.

Question 14

Research on cognitive dissonance suggests that one way we could promote healthy behavior is to:

Accepted Answer

Cognitive dissonance theory suggests that when people’s attitudes and behaviors are inconsistent, they feel discomfort or dissonance. Making people aware of inconsistencies between their attitudes toward their health and their health behaviors (such as smoking, not exercising, or not wearing a seatbelt) will increase their discomfort and motivate them to change their behavior. This technique is called “self-persuasion” and has been shown to be effective in promoting healthy behaviors. Paying people money or providing information about disease risks can also be effective, but they do not directly address the cognitive dissonance people feel between their attitudes and behaviors. Discussing the public’s susceptibility to illness is unlikely to be effective because it does not address the individual’s own dissonance.

Question 15

An attitude that is accessible all the time refers to ___________.

Accepted Answer

Chronic accessibility refers to an attitude that is easily accessible and comes to mind frequently, and is often automatic and unconscious.

Question 16

The Implicit Associations Test is a measure used to assess explicit attitudes.

Accepted Answer

The Implicit Associations Test is actually a measure used to assess implicit attitudes, rather than explicit attitudes. It measures the strength of associations between concepts (e.g. race and good, race and bad) in a person's unconscious mind, and can reveal unconscious biases or preferences.

Question 17

If we paid people a great deal of money to perform a behavior inconsistent with their attitude,research suggests people would experience cognitive dissonance,and therefore change their attitude to match their behavior.

Accepted Answer

The answer of If we paid people a great deal...

Question 18

Joe wants his boss to think he's a hard worker.Whenever his boss walks by his office he starts to type furiously on his computer.Joe is engaging in which of the following?

Accepted Answer

Joe is engaging in impression management, which is the act of controlling or manipulating the impression others have of oneself. In this case, Joe is trying to create the impression that he is a hard worker by typing furiously when his boss walks by. False consensus refers to the belief that others share one's attitudes or beliefs, self-affirmation involves affirming one's own values and identity, and post-decisional dissonance refers to the discomfort or unease felt after making a difficult decision. None of these concepts apply to Joe's behavior in this scenario.

Question 19

Anna will likely experience post-decisional dissonance after she chooses between two equally attractive colleges.

Accepted Answer

Post-decisional dissonance is a feeling of anxiety or doubt that arises after making a decision, particularly between two good options. Therefore, it is likely that Anna will experience this after choosing between two equally attractive colleges.

Question 20

Affect is one main component of an attitude.

Accepted Answer

Affect refers to an individual's emotional response to an object or issue and is one of the main components of an attitude, along with behavioral and cognitive components.

Quiz 6: Attitudes: Making Evaluations About the World