Chapter 7 cognitive dissonance
value-expressive function:
attitudes communicate our identity and beliefs. they symbolize our support and commitment
learning approach:
attitudes form when people encounter information that can be positively or negatively evaluated. most likely when there is no prior attitude. i.e. got burned so negative attitude with fire due to this recent experience of being burned
object appraisal function:
attitudes help us to rapidly evaluate targets so we know whether to approach or avoid them
When do attitudes predict behavior?
attitudes will predict spontaneous behaviors only when they are highly accessible (accessible attitudes come to mind easily) attitudes will predict deliberative behavior when people have time to form a behavioral intention (theory of planned behavior)
post-decision dissonance:
dissonance aroused after making a decision typically reduced by enhancing the attractiveness of the chosen alternative and devaluing the rejected alternatives. we like the chosen object/action more we like the rejected objects/actions less this makes us feel better
cognition:
thoughts about the object
what are the three methods of reducing/avoiding cognitive dissonance?
-changing behavior -changing one cognition -adding new cognitions i.e. tanning can cause increase my risk of skin cancer/i go tanning frequently so to cause this change would be changing going tanning to be healthy
insufficient justification effect:
-counter-attitudinal advocacy (stating an opinion or attitude that runs counter to one's private belief or attitude) -external justification (a reason or explanation for behavior that resides outside the individual (i.e. reward/punishment) NO CHANGE IN ATTITUDE/BEHAVIOR) -internal justification (reduction of dissonance by changing something of yourself forced to change attitude/behavior)
where do attitudes come from?
-learning approach -mere exposure -classical conditioning -genetic predispositions
Give an example of a study that shows the justification of effort effect:
Aronson & Mills (1959) initiation study college students volunteered to join a group before joining the group had to go through initiation either severe, mind or no initiation -everyone listed to a taped discussion from the group that was really dull and boring then participants were asked to rate the group based on the discussion findings:people who went through a severe initiation liked the discussion group incredibly more vs. the control group who didn't like it very much
Likert scale:
a numerical scale used to assess peoples attitudes, it includes a set of possible answers with labeled anchors on each extreme. agree or disagree. a direct/self report measurement of attitudes
external justification:
a reason or explanation for behavior that resides outside the individual (i.e. reward/punishment) NO CHANGE IN ATTITUDE/BEHAVIOR
balance theory:
a theory holding that people try to maintain balance among their beliefs cognitions and sentiments
cognitive dissonance theory:
a theory that maintains that inconsistencies among a persons thoughts sentiments and actions create and aversive emotional state dissonance that leads to efforts to restore consistency
self-perception theory:
a theory that people come to know their own attitudes by looking at their behavior and the context in which it occurred and inferring what their attitudes must be
mere exposure:
being exposed to something enough times leads to positive attitudes. subconscious exposures people misattribute feelings of familiarity with pervious positive encounters
explicit attitudes:
better for predicting deliberative behavior. controlled attitudes predict controlled behavior
implicit attitudes:
better for predicting spontaneous behavior automatic attitudes predict automatic behavior
self-affirmation:
bolstering our identity and self-esteem by taking note of important elements of our identity, such as our important values
General behaviors ---> ___ attitude specific behaviors ---> ___ attitude
general; specific
what is the relationship of insufficient punishment to cognitive dissonance?
harsh punishments=dont want to get caught mild punishment=why am i not doing it? why not do it? i must not like it dissonance reduction
what did LaPier d in his study in 1934o?
he took a Chinese couple across the US during a time when there were a lot of negative attitudes toward asians. before taking the couple to restaurants he would call and ask owners "would you serve a chinese visitor?" 90% of owners said no. however a majority of establishments did provide service. flawed study
behavior:
how you behave toward an object
what are some of the consequences of good/bad deeds that lead to dissonance?
hurting our victims. if we harm someone induces dissonance between our action and self concept as decent person to resolve dissonance we may start to victim blame
implicit attitude measures:
indirect measures of attitudes that do not involve self report. measures noneconcious attitudes.
how do good/bad deed lead to dissonance?
like people for not what they have done for us but for the things we do for them. the ben franklin effect: ben used to manipulate political rival to become a friend by asking for them to do a favor for him. why did i give this money ? oh i must really like this person.
effort justification:
people's tendency to reduce dissonance by justifying the time, effort, or money they have devoted to something that has turned out to be unpleasant or disappointing
Indirect attitudes measures:
psychological=facial EMG EEG nonverbal behavior=eye contact good for sensitive attitudes i.e. race people don't realize attitudes are being assessed
internal justification:
reduction of dissonance by changing something of yourself forced to change attitude/behavior
counter-attitudinal advocacy:
stating an opinion or attitude that runs counter to one's private belief or attitude
induced (forced) compliance:
subtly compelling individuals to behave in a manner that is inconsistent with their beliefs attitudes or values in order to elicit dissonance and therefore a change in their original attitudes or values
what is an attitude based on?
three components -affect (emotional response to an object) -behavior (how you behave toward an object) -cognition (thoughts about the object)
genetic predisposition:
twin studies show attitudes have genetic component, may be because other things are genetically influenced i.e. intelligence are also related to the same attitudes
theory of planned behavior:
when trying to make a link between peoples attitudes and their behavior when they have time to think and plan their behavior (deliberative behavior)
what are the properties of attitudes?
-Valence (is your overall evaluation positive or negative) -extremity (how positive or negative is it) -strength (how strong or weak is your attitude
what are the 4 tenants of cognitive dissonance theory as Leone Festinger (1957) originally proposed?
-any two cognitions are either relevant or not -if relevant they can be dissonant or consonant -dissonance causes negative arousal -people will be motivated to reduce this arousal
What are the three predictors of behavioral intentions?
-attitude toward behavior (what do you think) -subjective norms (what other people think) -perceived behavioral control (how easy will it be to do)
How do we measure attitudes?
-direct (self report) (i.e. attitude scale, bogus pipeline, likert scale, semantic differential (using numbers measuring Bad-Good)) -implicit: -indirect:(psychological=facial EMG EEG, nonverbal behavior=eye contact)
do attitudes predict behavior?
Early studies say no, there is a weak correlation. however yes sort of= general behavior = general attitude specific behavior = specific attitude
give an example of a study that shows insufficient justification effect:
Festinger & Carlsmith (1959) had participants complete a boring tasks for hour then had them tell the next subject that the task was fun. and they would receive either $1 or $20
cognitive dissonance:
Inner tension that a consumer experiences after recognizing an inconsistency between behavior and values or opinions An unpleasant state that arises when a person recognizes the inconsistency of his or her actions, attitudes, or beliefs
classical conditioning:
associating an attitude object with something that is already liked A type of learning in which one learns to link two or more stimuli and anticipate events
spreading of alternatives:
easy choice conditions the liking of an object pre decision of the unchosen object is lower than the chosen object. this is the same for a post decision nothing has changed for hard choice condition the chosen and unchosen object are equal for liking pre-decison and the liking of the chosen object increases and the liking of the unchosen object decreases post decision ESSENTIALLY: I like the iron, i chose the blender, the blender is a lot better
affect:
emotional response to an object
attitude:
summary evaluation favorable or unfavorable toward an object. an evaluation of an object in a positive or negative fashion that includes the three elements of affect cognition and behavior
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
Justification of effort:
the tendency for individuals to increase their liking for something they have worked hard to attain. i.e. if you work really hard to get into med school you might be less likely to admit that you actually don't think you want to be a doctor anymore. "I worked really hard for this i must really like it"
system justification theory:
the theory that people are motivated to see the existing political social status quo as desirable fair and legitimate
terror management theory:
the theory that people deal with the potentially paralyzing anxiety that comes with the knowledge of the inevitable of death by striving for symbolic immortality through the preservation of a valued worldview and the conviction that they have lived up to its values and prescriptions
response latency:
the time it takes an individual to respond to a stimulus such as a attitude question
