PSYC 355 Chapter 6: Attitudes

A major difference between cognitive dissonance theory and self-perception theory involves the extent to which ____ is necessary to lead to self-persuasion and attitude change.

physiological arousal

While shopping at the local mall, Ithon is approached by a man who asks her to sign a petition for stricter gun control laws. If Ithon uses the central route to decide whether to sign the petition, then she will be more likely to sign if the man who approaches her

presents strong arguments.

A negative reaction to the feeling that one's freedom is being threatened is called

psychological reactance.

Selma's friends can't stand her new girlfriend, Patty, and have been pressuring Selma to stop seeing her. Selma gets agitated and feels that her friends should mind their own business and not try to "run her life" for her. According to the concept of ____, Selma would be most likely to respond by ____.

psychological reactance; feeling even more dedicated to her relationship with Patty

Marla knows that eating donuts is bad for her, and yet every morning on her way to work she stops at the local donut store and gets three donuts with a cup of coffee. She tells herself, "I HAVE to get donuts or else I'm going to look like a weirdo for only getting coffee at a donut store." Which technique is she using to reduce her own cognitive dissonance?

reduce perceived choice

Leo has always believed strongly that fidelity in a marriage is very important. After he has an extramarital affair with Annette, he says to himself, "How could I stop myself? Annette was my soul mate. This was meant to be." Which dissonance-reducing technique is Leo using?

reducing perceived choice

The idea that people are more likely to be influenced by messages that match their frame of mind is known as

regulatory fit

The study by Strachan and others (2002) found that subliminal cues regarding thirst influenced how much Kool-Aid participants drank only when

the participants were thirsty and water had been withheld.

A sleeper effect occurs when

a persuasive message from a non credible source becomes more persuasive over time.

Attitudes are useful because they

let us quickly judge whether something we encounter is good or bad.

Hoshino-Browne and colleagues' (2005) post-decision dissonance experiment found that Japanese participants

felt dissonance when making a decision for a friend rather than themselves.

Wegener et al. (1995) found that happy participants used the central route to persuasion when presented with a pro-attitudinal message, but used the peripheral route to persuasion when presented with a counter-attitudinal message. This finding suggests that

happy people avoid processing only if it threatens to spoil their mood.

High self-monitors respond more to ____ advertising.

image-oriented

Markesan had made a chastity vow along with a lot of other girls in her church youth group. Her senior year, she and her boyfriend begin having sex, and Markesan becomes pregnant. Markesan doesn't really regret having sex with her boyfriend, but she is embarrassed that her friends will see her as a hypocrite. Markesan's experience fits best with which theory?

impression management theory

A condition in which people refrain from engaging in a desirable activity, even though only mild punishment is threatened, is called

insufficient deterrence.

The feeling of ambivalence can be described as an attitude that is

mixed in terms of positive versus negative emotions.

Jaycee is extremely judgmental. She has strong opinions about politics, social issues, and moral concerns. Jaycee is high in the

need for evaluation

Harmon-Jones and others (1996) research in which participants drank Kool-Aid mixed with sugar versus vinegar showed that

negative consequences for lying are not essential to dissonance.

Source credibility is determined by

both competence and trustworthiness.

The main factor(s) influencing source likeability is/are

both similarity and physical attractiveness.

Marcia has two boyfriends, Davie and Mickey, both of whom she likes very much. She has decided that dating both of them is making her life too complicated and, after careful deliberation, has decided to stop seeing Davie and continue dating only Mickey. According to cognitive dissonance theory, which of the following should happen next?

c. Mickey will seem more attractive than ever, convincing Marcia that she made the right choice.

A social psychology graduate student who works long hours for little pay becomes increasingly convinced that she loves social psychology. This student's attitude toward her chosen field of study is most likely the result of

c. insufficient justification.

Which is not one of the four steps in the dissonance process?

elaboration

The covert attitude measure that uses electrodes pasted onto the scalp to record the waves of electrical brain activity is called a(n)

electroencephalograph.

In a study about political attitudes and opinions during the 2004 presidential election, researchers used brain imaging to examine what happened in the brain when participants listened to positive or negative statements about the candidate of their choice. They found that most affected were those areas of the brain associated with which of the following?

emotion

The primary difference between the models of persuasion proposed by Hovland and McGuire and that proposed by Greenwald is that Greenwald's model

emphasizes the role of elaboration in producing persuasion.

People who are high in intelligence and/or self-esteem tend to be ____ vulnerable to persuasion when compared to people low in intelligence and/or self-esteem.

equally

Which advertising slogan for a new stereo system would be most appealing to someone in a collectivist culture?

"Invite your friends over so they can dance to music of the highest clarity."

Which of the following is not an explanation for why people in a positive mood are more susceptible to persuasion?

A positive mood makes people more thoughtful, so they are more likely to engage in central processing.

Miss Roberto is concerned that Talia and Emily avoid playing with Michael because he is African American. Which strategy would best enable her to assess any unconscious dislike these two students feel toward Michael?

Administer an IAT to examine the girls' racial attitudes.

Which of the following situations should prompt the least cognitive dissonance?

Audrey doesn't like cats much, so she decides that her new pet will be a dog.

Which statement concerning the use of fear appeals is not supported by research?

b. Fear appeals are generally less effective than messages that do not provoke fear.

If you want to convince a friend to abandon an attitude and start thinking more like you, what would be the best approach?

Be cautious in your approach and do not promote an idea that is too different than your friend's current attitude.

Which of the following would not be considered an attitude?

Dalton drives a silver minivan.

Which statement regarding LaPeer's (1934) study of attitudes is false?

Even though respondents who were asked self-report questions claimed that they would not be racially prejudiced, their behavior showed clear discrimination.

Which of the following concerning the use of facial electromyography (EMG) to assess attitudes is true?

Facial EMG can detect muscular changes not observable to the naked eye.

Elias believes that gun control is necessary. Which of the following would cause Elias to change his attitude the most?

He anticipates giving a speech against gun control, and then gives the speech.

Jon and Kate give consecutive speeches on opposing sides in a debate on solar energy. Audience members are asked to register their view a few weeks later. How might the order of the speeches affect the audience's decision?

It should yield a primacy effect.

When message recipients use central route processing, which of the following will be true?

Memorable messages will be more persuasive than forgettable ones.

Your friend is thinking of purchasing a self-help weight-loss CD that promises its effects through subliminal persuasive messages embedded in the music. What should you tell her research shows about the effectiveness of such programs?

No solid evidence exists to support such programs.

Which statement concerning the impact of body movements on persuasion is true?

People who nod their heads up and down express greater agreement with a persuasive message than those who shake their heads side to side.

Which of the following has not been demonstrated in research on role-playing?

Role-playing effects are stronger among those low in need for cognition than those high in need for cognition.

The hypothesis that there is a genetic component to some attitudes would be supported by all but which finding

The human genome project has identified specific genes that are responsible for the ability to hold positive or negative attitudes.

Jerri thinks gossiping is wrong, but she chooses to engage in it anyway because she doesn't believe any harm that could come from it. Why does Jerri not feel personal responsibility for the negative consequences that ultimately come from her gossiping?

She doesn't foresee the negative consequences.

What occurred in the research by Balletic and Dunning (2007) in which participants were asked to walk across a college campus wearing an embarrassing costume?

Students in the high-choice condition underestimated how far they had walked relative to those in the low-choice condition.

Social psychologists seek to understand

b. how and why persuasion occurs.

Tristan had to choose between two potential mates, Charlie and Ryan, on the final episode of the original The Bachelorette. In the end, she chose Ryan. Several weeks later, a reporter interviewed Tristan about her feelings toward the two men. How will she mostly likely express her feelings at the time of the interview if she is trying to avoid post-decision dissonance?

Tristan suggests that she was impressed by his career ambitions at first, but has come to realize that Charlie's busy work schedule would have been an obstacle to a successful relationship.

Ichiro, a member of a campus political group, is surveying how many students plan to vote in the 2018 interim election. According to the theory of planned behavior, which question would be the best predictor of whether or not a particular student would actually vote in the 2018 interim election?

What are your attitudes about voting in U.S. interim elections, when the presidency is not being decided?

Dr. Flintstone, president of Quarry College, needs to convince students that the college must double its tuition beginning in five years. He is hiring someone to promote this idea, as well as developing supportive arguments. Would he need to adopt a different strategy if he instead wanted to implement the change in the next academic year?

Yes. If the change is to happen next year, the strength of the arguments will matter more than whom he hires to promote the idea.

Shaniqua plans to use a self-report measure in which people indicate their agreement or disagreement with a list of statements using a multi-point scale. She is using

a Likert scale.

Abby compliments Sharon on her new outfit, despite thinking it is not flattering at all. According to the "new look" at dissonance theory,

a. Abby must feel physiological arousal after her lie in order to feel cognitive dissonance.

Louie runs a clinic that helps individuals to quit smoking, and he would like to use fear to motivate his clients. Which strategy would be most effective?

a. First scare clients by showing them gory lung-cancer operations. Then outline the specific steps they could follow to stop smoking.

Which condition is not specified in Holland's model of persuasion as necessary for persuasion to occur?

a. Message recipients must elaborate on the message.

Sally is a staunch Democrat. She has been arguing with Jim, who is a staunch Republican. In the course of their discussion, Sally is able to withstand the arguments Jim offers for his position, but just barely. She realizes afterward that her own counterarguments to his were pretty weak. Subsequent to this realization, Sally's attitude will

a. become less certain.

Marge believes rather strongly that more money should be devoted to environmental concerns. However, she is agitated because she just signed a petition for a friend advocating the logging of a local forest in order to create new jobs. She then seems to soften her stance about the environment. This is best explained by

a. cognitive dissonance theory.

Research by Aronson and Carl smith (1963) shows that severe punishment

a. is less likely than mild punishment to inspire cognitive dissonance.

People high in need for cognition are

a. more likely to process a message along the central route.

Wilkin and others (2010) conducted a study where American and Japanese participants were asked about their favorite musical artists, TV shows, and restaurants, among other preferences. They found that

a. the Japanese participants reported liking their favorites for a shorter time than the Americans did.

The process by which attitudes are changed is called

a. persuasion

The central route to persuasion requires

ability and motivation.

An attitude that is brought to mind quickly and easily is said to be

accessible

Josie listened to a speech on the radio advocating the increased use of automobiles that are not reliant on fossil fuels. One would expect the sleeper effect to be greatest if Josie found out about the background of the speaker ____ the speech and was asked about his views about the issue ____.

after; a few weeks later

Cacioppo and Petty (1981) recorded facial muscle activity of college students as they listened to a message with which they agreed or disagreed. The results of this study indicated that listening to a(n) ____ message increases activity in the ____.

agreeable; cheek muscles

The theory of planned behavior posits that behavior is a function of attitudes, subjective norms, behavioral intentions, and the

amount of control we perceive to have over our own actions.

Which strategy for resisting persuasion is exemplified by the statement, "I doubt that anyone could change my viewpoint"?

an assertion of confidence

For which type of attitude would an implicit attitude measure be more predictive than an explicit attitude measure?

an attitude toward committing suicide

Gino, a salesperson, wants to use techniques that will lead his potential customers to rely on peripheral route persuasion. He should do all of the following except

approach prospective buyers who obviously care deeply about his product.

An attitude is implicit if you

are unaware of it.

Because communicator trustworthiness is important, people tend to be readily impressed by speakers who

argue against their own interests

All of the following are necessary conditions for cognitive dissonance specified by Cooper and Fazio (1984) except that people must

assign responsibility for the behavior to an outside source.

A positive, negative, or mixed response to a person, object, or idea is called a(n)​

attitude

Sam hates Celine Dion with a passion. One day, he meets Celine at a party. She tries to win him over by giving him her new CD. In which of the following scenarios would Sam's attitudes toward Celine be most likely to change after hearing the CD, according to dissonance theory?

b. She offers him a free coupon for his next dry cleaning order in exchange for listening to it.

Jacqueline, an attitude researcher, is interested in how people feel about alcohol. She would be well-advised to use a

b. bogus pipeline because it is not as susceptible to social desirability effects.

After narrowing their choices to a Toyota and a Honda, Tammy Faye and James have decided to buy a Toyota. It is likely that after making this decision, Tammy Faye and James will

b. feel less dissonance if they are told by friends that they have decorated their house nicely.

Tariq doesn't want his kids to give in to peer pressure to smoke. According to the inoculation hypothesis, one way he could build up their resistance to potential peer pressure is to

b. present them with weak arguments for smoking so that they can generate counterarguments.

The idea that we infer our own attitudes by coolly observing ourselves and the circumstances of our behavior is most consistent with

b. self-perception theory.

Which of the following is not used to overcome the limitations of traditional self-report methodology?

b. The Likert scale

. Gloria has a negative attitude toward smoking, but she continues to smoke two packs of cigarettes a day. According to the theory of planned behavior, one reason that her attitude and behavior are inconsistent could be that

b. she doesn't believe that she can control her smoking behavior.

Impression management theory suggests that people change their attitudes to match their behaviors in an effort to

be consistent.

Professor Shackleford is elated because she has just learned that her paper has been accepted for publication. When a student passes her in the hallway and tells her that he missed the latest exam in order to stay home with his depressed cat, her good mood renders her likely to

be less skeptical than usual about the excuse.

Yanquan is a staunch Democrat. He has been arguing with Marcela, who is a staunch Republican. In the course of their discussion, Yanquan is able to withstand the arguments Marcela offers for her position, and he does so in strong and convincing fashion. He realizes afterward that his own counterarguments to Marcela's were pretty solid. Subsequent to this realization, Yanquan's attitude will

become more certain.

People who want to hold correct attitudes will often engage in central route processing. Doing so means that they

c. may fall prey to overcorrection.

Kirk is a strong Republican who voted for Mitt Romney in 2012. Based on research by Regan and Kilduff (1988), when should Kirk have felt most confident about Romney's chances for winning the 2012 election?

c. right after voting

Cross-cultural research indicates that cognitive dissonance

can be seen across cultures, but emerges in different situations in different cultures.

While watching the presidential debate on television, Matilda critically evaluated the arguments made by each candidate and was persuaded to support a particular candidate because of the quality of her arguments. Matilda exhibited

central route persuasion.

An unpleasant psychological state often aroused when people hold two conflicting cognitions is called

cognitive dissonance.

One way to increase the accuracy of self-report measures of attitudes is to

convince respondents that any deception can be detected.

Han and Shavout found that Korean participants would respond most favorably to which of the following advertisement slogans?

d. "An exhilarating way to provide for your family."

Shawna wants to join a sorority. This sorority has recently decided to put incoming members through various forms of initiation. Based on the findings of Aronson and Mills (1959), which type of initiations is most likely to lead Shawna to identify strongly with the sorority and to value her membership in the group in the effort to avoid cognitive dissonance?

d. a severely unpleasant initiation

Persuasive communication is the outcome of three possible factors. Which is not one of those factors?

d. context

Which means of persuasion is least obvious to a person who is unfamiliar with social psychology?

d. persuasion from within

The "Lipton Ice" and dextrose pill research demonstrated that subliminal messages are most effective when participants

d. really needed the item being advertised.

When she first joined the Army, Stephanie was not entirely sure she would like it, but was excited about the thought of traveling around the world. By the end of the grueling basic training program, she absolutely loves Army life and is totally committed to it, despite the fact that she had been stationed in New Jersey and never got to leave the country. Stephanie's attitude toward the Army is most likely the result of

effort justification.

Stanley's stock broker calls him and says, "I have a great stock buying opportunity for you, but I need to know right away if you want to make the purchase." Stanley refuses to act so quickly, and says, "sorry but I really need to take time to think about this and decide if it is right for me. I'll get back to you." Stanley is going to use ____ as he decides if he should follow his broker's advice.

elaboration

A political candidate is often eager to win the endorsement of celebrities who are popular with hordes of people. The candidate hopes that the association of his or her campaign with a popular figure will result in the masses feeling more favorable toward his or her candidacy due to

evaluative conditioning.

The process by which we form an attitude toward a neutral stimulus because of its association with a positive or negative person, place, or thing is called

evaluative conditioning.

Research by Landau and colleagues (2004), in which participants were exposed to subliminal images of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and then asked questions about then-President George W. Bush, leads to the conclusion that

fear arousal can influence even attitudes as important as political opinions.

Measuring attitudes by assessing physiological arousal tends to identify the ____ but not the ____ of the attitude

intensity; direction

According to the theory of planned behavior, one reason that a person's behavior might not be consistent with that person's attitudes is that the behavior

is determined by norms that are counter to the person's attitudes.

The more products a celebrity endorses, the

less trustworthy she becomes in the eyes of consumers.

Roger and Mike always seem to disagree on music. When Roger tells Mike that he has heard a new song on the radio that he likes a lot, this experience is likely to lead Mike to

like the song less than he would have had he not talked to Roger ahead of time.

Which source characteristic best explains why a company might recruit a supermodel to endorse its products?

likeability

According to a 2014 Gallup poll, ____ were rated as being the most honest and having the highest ethical standards.

nurses

Brady and Quinn are trying to develop an ad campaign in which a key element is the trustworthiness of the message's communicator. Toward this end, they may wish to utilize

overheard communications

The findings of the classic Fastinger and Carl smith (1959) experiment indicate that

participants in the $1 condition experience greater discomfort and agitation when lying about how fun the task was than do participants in the $20 condition.

Implicit attitudes can be difficult to measure because

people are not aware of having them.

One potential problem with self-report measures is that

respondents might not respond truthfully.

Steele's research on self-affirmation and cognitive dissonance indicates that when self-affirmations fail, dissonance

returns.

When used to measure attitudes, physiological measures such as heart rate and perspiration

reveal the intensity of an attitude.

After giving the matter a great deal of thought, Iris declared chemistry rather than physics as her major. Having made this decision, she went out and had a good time with her classmates, who reminded her what a great friend she was. At that point, Iris was able to look at her choice and see both its pros and cons without glamorizing it. Her behavior can best be explained by the concept of

self-affirmation.

The basic prediction of ____ theory is that attitude change occurs when people infer how they feel by observing themselves and the circumstances of their own behavior.

self-perception

The most direct and straightforward way to assess an attitude is through the use of

self-report measures.

Stephen Kraus's (1995) meta-analysis on the relationship between attitudes and behaviors showed that attitudes

significantly and substantially predict future behavior.

According to research by Formula and Petty (2002), an attitude can be ____ by a persuasive message or argument ____ it.

strengthened; against

Wells and Petty (1980) videotaped students as they listened to a speech. The results of this study indicated that

students signaled their attitudes by nodding or shaking their heads.

Michael believes that one's family is more important than one's career. In order for him to successfully convince his achievement-oriented friend Ronald that he should also possess such a value system, Michael should

suggest more of a balance between family and career concerns than is currently true for Ronald.

Which indicator is not used to distinguish weak attitudes from strong ones?

the amount of perceived behavioral control

Research on the attitudes of twins suggests

the attitudes of identical twins are more similar than the attitudes of fraternal twins.

The process by which a person carefully about a communication and is influenced by the strength of its arguments is called

the central route to persuasion.

Sleeper effects can be reduced by reminding people that the source of a persuasive message was not credible. This supports which explanation of sleeper effects?

the discounting cue hypothesis

Research demonstrates that exposure to weak versions of a persuasive argument tends to increase later resistance to that argument. This is consistent with

the inoculation hypothesis.

In trying to assess attitudes about particular subjects, public opinion pollsters have become aware that attitude responses seem to be affected by all of the factors below except

the length of the questionnaire.

Vicki is a lawyer who is trying to decide which of two forensic experts she should hire to provide testimony in a case. There is a large discrepancy in the fees each of the experts demands for their services. If Vicki wants the jurors to perceive her expert as trustworthy—and if she expects the witness's fees to become part of the trial record when he testifies—then she should select

the less expensive expert.

Eric does not really know how to answer the essay question about cognitive dissonance on his social psychology exam. He decides to write as many facts as he knows about the topic of attitudes in his exam book, hoping that the professor will not read the exams too closely and will be impressed enough by the length of his essay to give him a good score. Eric is hoping to take advantage of

the peripheral route to persuasion.

The process by which a person is persuaded by cues in the persuasion context rather than thinking critically about the content of a persuasive message is called

the peripheral route to persuasion.

As personal involvement regarding an issue increases,

the quality of the arguments becomes a more important determinant of persuasion.

Implicit Association Tests (IATs) can detect implicit attitudes by measuring

the speed at which participants associate stimuli with a positive or negative word.

Which theory suggests that intentions to perform a behavior are best predicted by attitudes toward the behavior, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control?

theory of planned behavior

The most common approach to persuasion is

through communication from others.

Which factor has the biggest impact on whether or not there will be a primacy or regency effect in persuasion?

time

Sammy and Mark watch a ballgame together. Sammy favors the home team, while Mark is an avid fan of the road team. The star player for Sammy's team makes a great play and starts to celebrate in a rather demonstrative fashion. Sammy gets caught up in the celebration, while Mark is angered because he feels this display is an insult to the players of his team. This demonstrates that

two people's evaluations of the same event are more likely to be similar than different.

. Research indicates that subliminal influence

usually occurs in the short term for simple judgments and actions.

Attitudes are best understood as

varying in strength along both positive and negative dimensions.