Ch.6- Self- Justification

What is post-decision dissonance?

dissonance aroused after making a decision, typically reduced by by enhancing the attractiveness of the chosen alternative and devaluating the rejected alternative

What are the "saying is believing" and the " less-leads-to-more" effects?

"Saying is Believing" ( Festinger & Carlsmith 1959) would you tell a lie for $1? would you tell a lie for $20? conclusion: attitudes were the same the 20.00 was an external justification'' "Less-leads-to-more" (university of texas 1969) anti-marijuana had to write why marijuana had to be legalized, actually shifted behavior, internal justification

Three ways to reduce dissonance?

1. changing behavior to bring in line with the dissonant cognition 2. changing one of the dissonant cognitions 3. adding new cognition ( self-affirmation)

What is the theory of cognitive dissonance?

A drive or feeling of discomfort originally defined as being caused by holding two or more inconsistent cognitions and subsequently defined as being caused by performing and action that is discrepant from one's customary , typical positive self-concption

what is lowballing? why does it work?

An unscrupulous strategy whereby a salesperson induces a customer to agree to purchase a product at a low cost, subsequently claims it was an error , and then raises the price; frequently , the customer will agree to make the purchase at the inflated price singing a check creates the illusion of irrevocability

How do people justify cruelty?

Dehumanizing the enemy - eg- he's an animal victim blaming-

self- persuasion

a long- lasting form of attitude change that results from atempts at self-justification severe punishment = external justification= temporary change mild punishment = internal justification=lasting change

external justification

a reason or an explanation for dissonant personal behavior that resides outside of the individual ( in order to receive a large reward or avoid a severe punishment) ex- lie to friend so you don't hurt feelings AKA "white lies"

what is self- affirmation?

a way of reducing dissonance by reminding oneself of one or more positive attributes. ex: " im stupid for smoking, but i am one hell of a cook"- walter White

how can dissonance affect or change personal values?

attitude towards cheating step 1: "its not a bad thing... " but its not a such a bad thing" step 2: "its not so unethical; i need this grade"..." cheating is really wrong; everyone loses" step 3: " oh, please its no big deal"..." its disgusting, expel all cheaters"

How does self esteem relate to dissonance? What are the implications?

high self-esteem can serve as a buffer against dishonest and self-defeating behaviors because people strive to keep self-concepts constant with their actions

Punishment and " less leads to more effect"

insufficient punishment : dissonance aroused when individual lack sufficient external justification for having resisted activity or object , usually results in devaluing forbidden activity or object study shows that children threatened with ,mild punishment ( vs. harsh- external justification) showed more attitude change - internal justification

What is rationalizing behavior? Remember the results of the segregation opinion study

segregation opinion study ( Jones and kohler, 1959) rationalizing- people who in the midst of reducing dissonance are so involved with convincing themselves that they are right that they frequently end up having behaving irrationally and maladaptively participants of the study remembered the plausible/likely arguments agreeing with their own positions BUT only remembered the silly/unlikely arguments agreeing with the opposing position

What is counterattitudinal advocacy?

stating an opinion or attitude that runs counter to ones private belief or attitude

what is hypocrisy induction? and how can it change behavior?

the arousal of dissonance by having individuals make statement that run counter tot heir behaviors and then reminding them of the inconsistency between what hey advocated and their behavior. the purpose is to lead individuals to do more responsible behaviors

How does permanence of the decision relate to dissonance ?

the more important the decision the greater the dissonance. Once decision has been made that is final, you re more likely to stick with that decision

Internal justification

the reduction of dissonance by changing something about oneself ( attitude or behavior)

What is justification of effort

the tendency for individuals to increase their liking for something they have worked hard to attain

what is impact bias and how does it relate to cognitive dissonance?

the tendency to overestimate the intensity and duration of one's emotional reactions to future negative events (reducing dissonance is largely unconscious)

What is the Ben Franklin effect?

you will like a person more after you do them a favor; when you do something nice for someone you start to like them more you need to justify why you would do something nice for someone