Chapter 6.1: The Theory of Cognitive Dissonance: Protecting Our Self-Esteem

True or false: The more important the decision, the greater the dissonance.

True.

True or false: The more permanent and irrevocable the decision, the stronger is the need to reduce dissonance.

True.

True or false: a sizable reward or a severe punishment provides strong external justification for an action. They encourage compliance but prevent real attitude change.

True.

True or false: if a person chooses to go through a demanding or an unpleasant experience to attain some goal or object, that goal or object becomes more attractive.

True.

True or false: it is not just any kind of inconsistency that causes dissonance, but actions or beliefs that challenge our very sense of self-worth.

True.

True or false: once we are committed to our views and beliefs, most of us distort new information in a way that confirms them.

True.

True or false: the irrevocability of a decision always increases dissonance and the motivation to reduce it.

True.

postdecision dissonance

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

What are the three basic ways to reduce dissonance.

- By changing our behavior to bring it in line with the dissonant cognition. - By attempting to justify our behavior through changing one of the dissonant cognitions. - By attempting to justify our behavior by adding new cognitions.

Amanda's parents tell her that if she texts while driving, they will take away her car for a year. Erin's parents tell her that if she texts while driving, they will take her car away for one weekend. Both Amanda and Erin decide not to text while driving. What would dissonance theory predict?

A. After they go to college and are away from their parents, Amanda is more likely to text while driving than Erin is.

You are selling $30 souvenir books for a club fund-raiser. How could you use the technique of lowballing to improve your sales?

A. Start by selling the books at $25, but once the customer has retrieved his or her checkbook, tell him or her you made a mistake and the books are actually $5 more than you thought.

Based on the "Ben Franklin effect," you are most likely to increase your liking for Tony when

B. you lend Tony $10.

What does cognitive dissonance theory predict about postdecision dissonance?

Cognitive dissonance theory predicts that to help yourself feel better about the decision, you will do some unconscious mental work to try to reduce the dissonance.

Which of the following techniques relating to post-decision dissonance could a clothing store use to increase customer satisfaction?

D. Make all sales final.

Briana undergoes treatment for drug addiction. After she leaves the clinic, Briana is most likely to stay off drugs if the treatment at the clinic was

D. voluntary (she chose to undergo treatment) and a difficult ordeal.

What is an example of counterattitudinal behavior?

In particular, what happens when you are subtly induced to do a favor for a person you don't much like? This is an example of counterattitudinal behavior, because you are acting in a way (helping someone) that is contrary to your beliefs (you don't like the person you are helping). As a result, will you like the person more—or less? Dissonance theory predicts that you will like the person more after doing the favor.

Example of cheating causing dissonance.

Regardless of whether or not you decide to cheat, the threat to your self-esteem arouses dissonance. If you cheat, your belief or cognition "I am a decent, moral person" is dissonant with your cognition "I have just committed an immoral act." If you decide to resist temptation, your cognition "I want to become a surgeon" is dissonant with your cognition "I could have nailed a good grade and admission to medical school, but I chose not to. Wow, was I stupid!" According to dissonance theory, it is likely that you would try to justify the action by finding a way to minimize its negative aspects. In this case, an efficient path to reducing dissonance would involve changing your attitude about cheating. You would adopt a more lenient attitude toward cheating, convincing yourself that it is a victimless crime that doesn't hurt anybody, that everybody does it, and that, therefore it's not really so bad.

How do you change children's thoughts and behaviors over time?

So if you want a person (your child, for example) to do something or not to do something only once, the best strategy would be to promise a large reward or threaten a severe punishment. But if you want a person to become committed to an attitude or to a behavior, the smaller the reward or punishment that will lead to momentary compliance, the greater will be the eventual change in attitude and therefore the more permanent the effect.

external justification

a reason or an explanation for dissonant personal behavior that resides outside the individual (e.g., to receive a large reward or to avoid receiving a punishment)

counterattitudinal behavior

acting in a way that runs counter to one's private belief or attitude

lowballing

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

cognitions

beliefs. mental processes, such as thinking, memory, sensation, and perception

internal justification

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

justification of effort

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

Ben Franklin Effect

A person who has performed a favor for someone is more likely to do another favor for that person than they would be if they had received a favor from that person. If we have done someone a personal favor (blue bar), we are likely to feel more positively toward that person than if we don't do the favor (orange bar) or do the favor because of an impersonal request (yellow bar)

How do people justify cruelty?

A sad, though universal, phenomenon is that all cultures are inclined to dehumanize their enemies by calling them cruel names and regarding them as "vermin," "animals," "brutes," and other nonhuman creatures.

After spending two years of tedious work fixing up an old house themselves, Abby and Brian are even more convinced that they made the right choice to buy the place. Their feelings are an example of

A. justifying their effort Consider This: Activities and behaviors are open to a variety of interpretations; if we are motivated to see the best in people and things, we will tend to interpret these ambiguities in a positive way.

Your friend Amy asks you what you think of the shoes she just bought. Privately, you think they are the ugliest shoes you have ever seen, but you tell her you love them. In the past, Amy has always valued your honest opinion and doesn't care that much about the shoes, which were inexpensive. Because the external justification for your fib was __________, you will probably _________________.

A. low, decide you like the shoes

Jake's professor tells Jake that if he is caught cheating on an exam, he will be expelled. Amanda's professor tells her that if she is caught cheating, she will have only to write a short paper about why cheating is wrong. If both students don't cheat, dissonance theory would predict that:

C. Amanda will feel more honest than Jake will.

Which of the following statements about culture and cognitive dissonance is true?

C. Dissonance occurs everywhere, but culture influences how people experience it.

When is dissonance most painful?

Elliot Aronson, who showed that dissonance is most painful, and we are most motivated to reduce it, when one of the dissonant cognitions challenge our self-esteem.

Which problems have hypocrisy induction been applied to?

Hypocrisy induction—making people aware of the dissonance between what they are doing and what they are preaching to others—has since been applied to a wide array of problems: getting people to quit smoking, apply sunscreen to prevent skin cancer, stop disordered eating, and manage other health concerns

How does hypocrisy work?

Hypocrites judge others more harshly than do people who have not committed the same unethical acts, and they present themselves as being more virtuous and ethical than everyone else. That is, they typically polarize their judgments, seeing more evil in others and more righteousness in themselves.

How is dissonance different across cultures?

In "collectivist" societies, where the needs of the group matter more than the needs of a particular person (as in "individualist" societies), dissonance-reducing behavior might be less prevalent, at least on the surface. In such cultures, we'd be more likely to find behavior aimed at maintaining group harmony and less likely to see people justifying their own personal misbehavior but more likely to see people experiencing dissonance when their behavior shames or disappoints others.

What is one of the most powerful determinants of human behavior?

Indeed, during the past several decades, social psychologists have discovered that one of the most powerful determinants of human behavior stems from our need to preserve a stable, positive self-image

How do we reduce post-decision dissonance?

Once we make a decision, we often inflate the importance of positive aspects of our choice (i.e., the college we selected) and minimize the positive aspects of the other alternatives (i.e., the colleges we didn't select).

Does punishing cause people to care about their actions or will people just try not to get caught?

The more severe the threat, the higher the likelihood the youngster will cease and desist—while you are watching him. But he may hit his brother again as soon as you are out of sight.

Why does lowballing work?

There are at least three reasons. First, although the customer's decision to buy is reversible, a commitment of sorts does exist. Signing a check for a down payment creates the illusion of irrevocability, even though, if the car buyer thought about it, he or she would quickly realize that it is a non-binding contract. Second, the feeling of commitment triggered the anticipation of an exciting event: driving out with a new car. To have had the anticipated event thwarted (by not going ahead with the deal) would have been a big letdown. Third, although the final price is substantially higher than the customer thought it would be, it is probably only slightly higher than the price at another dealership. Thus, by using dissonance reduction and the illusion of irrevocability, high-pressure salespeople increase the probability that you will decide to buy their product at their price.

True or false: Dissonance is an uncomfortable psychological state that people want to get rid of.

True.

True or false: Every time we make a decision we experience dissonance.

True.

True or false: Indeed, one of the major causes of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among veterans of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq is their inability to reduce dissonance over killing children, bystanders, and other innocent civilians—a result of the difficulty of fighting a war against counterinsurgents rather than a formal army.

True.

True or false: People who don't want to give up scientifically discredited ideas (such as the mistaken belief that vaccines cause autism), or who receive bad news about their health can be equally "creative" in denying evidence and reducing their discomfort.

True.

True or false: The less severe you make the threat, the less external justification there is; the less external justification, the higher the need for internal justification.

True.

self-esteem

refers to people's evaluations of their own self-worth—that is, the extent to which they view themselves as good, competent, and decent.

hypocrisy induction

the arousal of dissonance by having individuals make statements that run counter to their behaviors and then reminding them of the inconsistency between what they advocated and their behavior. The purpose is to lead individuals to more responsible behavior.

cognitive dissonance

the discomfort that is caused when two cognitions (beliefs, attitudes) conflict, or when our behavior conflicts with our attitudes

insufficient punishment

the dissonance aroused when individuals lack sufficient external justification for having resisted a desired activity or object, usually resulting in individuals devaluing the forbidden activity or object

What is social psychology's most important and most provocative theory?

the theory of cognitive dissonance