Question 1

Regan and Fazio (1977) studied attitude-behavior consistency at Cornell University during a severe housing shortage. They found that the students most willing to sign and distribute petitions about the housing crisis were

Accepted Answer

Regan and Fazio found that students who were directly affected by the housing crisis, such as those assigned to temporary housing, were more motivated to take action, demonstrating a higher attitude-behavior consistency.

Question 2

Our attitudes predict our behavior when

Accepted Answer

Our attitudes are more likely to predict our behavior when situational pressures are minimized, the attitude is specifically about the behavior, and the attitude is salient.

Question 3

According to the reasoned action model, what should be the best predictor of Lisa's sexual behavior?

Accepted Answer

The reasoned action model posits that an individual's intention to perform a behavior is the best predictor of that behavior. Therefore, Lisa's own intention to engage in premarital sex would be the best predictor of her sexual behavior.

Question 4

Which is NOT a factor in the revised theory of planned behavior?

Accepted Answer

The revised theory of planned behavior includes subjective social norms, perceived control over outcomes, and behavioral intention, but not attitude/behavior discrepancy.

Question 5

The "ABCs" of attitudes refers to the arousal, behavioral, and cognitive components.

Accepted Answer

The "ABCs" of attitudes refer to the affective, behavioral, and cognitive components.

Question 6

Overall evaluations toward attitude objects are often difficult to change.

Accepted Answer

Attitudes are generally stable and resistant to change due to factors like cognitive consistency, social influences, and the anchoring effect of initial impressions.

Question 7

Attitudes make people come to decisions slowly because they have so much info to sift through.

Accepted Answer

Attitudes can actually lead to quicker decisions as they provide a framework or bias that influences how information is interpreted and prioritized.

Question 8

The concepts of reinforcement and association are most closely associated with the learning theory approach to attitudes.

Accepted Answer

Reinforcement and association are key components of learning theory, which explains how attitudes can be formed and changed through experiences that involve rewards or punishments.

Question 9

The position being advocated in a message is more important for persuasion than the details of the message.

Accepted Answer

The position being advocated in a message is more important for persuasion than the details of the message because the position is what the audience will remember and be persuaded by. The details of the message are less important because they can be forgotten or ignored.

Question 10

Transfer of affect works better for things we know well and does not work very well for things we are not familiar with.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Transfer of affect works better for things...

Question 11

Balance theory is one example of an expectancy-value theory.

Accepted Answer

Balance theory is a consistency theory, not an expectancy-value theory. It focuses on the balance of relationships and attitudes, while expectancy-value theories focus on the motivation to achieve goals based on expected outcomes and the value of those outcomes.

Question 12

Balance theory maintains that imbalanced configurations tend to change toward balanced ones.

Accepted Answer

Balance theory, proposed by Fritz Heider, suggests that people are motivated to maintain consistency in their relationships and attitudes, leading them to adjust imbalanced configurations to achieve balance.

Question 13

The least effort principle explains the most likely way for imbalanced attitude configurations to become balanced.

Accepted Answer

The least effort principle suggests that individuals will change their attitudes or beliefs in the simplest way possible to achieve balance, making it a likely explanation for how imbalanced attitudes become balanced.

Question 14

Dissonance appears to be most consistently aroused when the attitudes and behaviors that are dissonant are not important to the self.

Accepted Answer

Dissonance is most consistently aroused when the attitudes and behaviors that are dissonant are important to the self, as this creates a stronger conflict and discomfort.

Question 15

After making decisions, we tend to increase our liking for what we choose and to decrease our liking for what we did not choose.

Accepted Answer

This phenomenon is known as the "choice-supportive bias" or "post-decision dissonance," where individuals justify their decisions by enhancing the attractiveness of the chosen option and diminishing the attractiveness of the rejected one.

Question 16

People are most likely to feel dissonance when external justification for their behavior is insufficient.

Accepted Answer

When external justification is insufficient, individuals experience cognitive dissonance because they cannot easily rationalize their behavior, leading to discomfort and a motivation to reduce the dissonance.

Question 17

The less commitment someone feels toward a decision, the more dissonance they will feel.

Accepted Answer

The more commitment someone feels toward a decision, the more dissonance they will feel if the decision turns out to be wrong, as they have invested more into it.

Question 18

When we choose something that works out badly, dissonance is created even if we were unaware that the outcome could have been negative.

Accepted Answer

Cognitive dissonance can occur when our actions or decisions conflict with our beliefs or expectations, regardless of our prior awareness of potential negative outcomes.

Question 19

Effort and choice are both factors that influence the amount of dissonance a person will feel.

Accepted Answer

Effort and choice can increase cognitive dissonance because they involve commitment and personal responsibility, leading to a stronger need to justify decisions or actions.

Question 20

Self-perception theory applies to situations when our attitudes are clear-cut and unambiguous.

Accepted Answer

Self-perception theory suggests that people infer their attitudes from their behaviors when their attitudes are unclear or ambiguous, not when they are clear-cut.

Quiz 5: Attitudes and Attitude Change