PSYC 3580 exam 2
subliminal advertising
1950s: movie theater in NJ flashed "drink Coca-Cola" and "eat popcorn" Purported results: Coke sales increased by 18%, popcorn by 58% People went nuts! FCC banned use of subliminal messages on the radio and TV There was no control group in the movie theater subliminal "study" The owner admitted he exaggerated claims to boost business
real vs expressed attitudes
A measured attitude may not be a person's true attitude
resisting persuasion
Adults are harder to persuade than kids Their attitudes are more likely to remain unchanged as time passes Strong attitudes are better able to withstand persuasive attacks or appeals specifically directed at them
the "ABCs" of attitudes
Affect (feelings) Behavior Cognition (thoughts)
attitude change: elm and hsm
Attitude change occurs in two ways: Central/Systematic route: thoughtful, deep processing Peripheral/Heuristic route: thoughtless, shallow processing Deep processing occurs only when we have the ability and motivation to do so Shallow processing occurs when we are distracted or uninvolved
resisting persuasion
Attitude inoculation: people can better resist a persuasive communication if they've been exposed to mild persuasive attempts before receiving the actual message Be aware!: less likely to be persuaded if we are warned about upcoming persuasive attempt Avoid reactance: people react against strong and transparent attempts to persuade them
affectively based attitudes
Attitudes based more on feelings and values than on cognitions Affective Learning Process 1. We know that we like/dislike something 2. We try to explain why (which becomes an attitude) "What is this feeling?"→"I must hate you." Attitudes more likely to be experienced as universally applicable, independent of authority dictates, and have deep ties to emotion
behaviorally based attitudes
Attitudes based on observations of how one behaves toward an attitude object Behavioral Learning Process 1. We observe our behavior 2. We infer our attitudes Central to self-perception theory (Bem, 1972)
cognitively based attitudes
Attitudes based primarily on one's beliefs about the properties of an attitude object Cognitive Learning Process 1. We receive information about the attitude object 2. We form beliefs (which become attitudes)
tv ads and kids
Average American kid spends more time watching TV than any other activity -Approximately 40 hours per week -Compare to 8.5 hours on homework, time with parents, and reading combined Young children do not discriminate between ads and programs Even older children who know the difference do not recognize the persuasive intent of ads
strong attitudes
Better predict behavior Are more consistent Are more resistant to change
Learning by imitation/modeling
Bobo doll Video games Usually leads explicit attitudes
heurisitc systematic model
Chaiken, 1980 Attitude change occurs in two ways 1. Systematic processing 2. Heuristic processing
origins of dissonance and newer additions
Cognitive dissonance (Festinger, 1957): a feeling of discomfort caused by holding two or more inconsistent cognitions Later additions: inconsistency between attitudes and behavior with consequence (Cooper & Fazio, 1984) inconsistency between self-standards and behavior (Stone & Cooper, 2001)
explicit attitudes
Consciously held Consciously accessed and expressed Controlled processing
types of advertising
Consumer advertising Political advertising Public service announcements
persuasion through advertising
Consumers don't think about why they make decisions -Half of consumers' purchases are impulse buys More products are bought if they are: -At eye-level -Closer to check-out -Bundle priced: 2 for 1
prolonging emotions after positive life events
For positive life events, don't try to think about why Pleasure of uncertainty - we can prolong positive feelings if we don't know why they occurred (e.g., dollar study) To more generally feel happier, write about something good in your lives as though it had never happened - "without x, I would be..."
Learning by socialization
Gender norms Drug/alcohol use Usually leads explicit attitudes
We can also use emotions as heuristics for processing information
Happy: more likely to rely on the peripheral route Sad: more likely to use the central route
hope-optimism and studies on this
Hope leads to using more positive strategies for improving/coping, less depression and more happiness, fewer health problems, higher goals for yourself, trying harder to reach those goals
Beanfest (Fazio, Eiser, and Shook, 2004)
How do people develop utilitarian attitudes about novel objects? Virtual game: given a field "beans" and chances to eat them Participants learned which beans to avoid better than they learned which beans to approach
emotions can be used as heuristics
If we're happy, we must have a positive attitude If we're sad, we must have a negative attitude This strategy is often used when there really isn't any difference between the products (e.g., soda brands)
advertising and emotion
In order to be influenced by ads, either via the central or peripheral route, we first need to take notice! One way that advertisers try to get our attention is by appealing to our emotions: -Pepsi & Nostalgia -Save the animals! -Emotion Spoofs
coping with negative life events
Mindsets - growth v fixed mindsets Pennebaker writing technique/Step-back-and-ask-why approach Wait until you have distance from a problem/event Then write about it for 15 min/day for 3-4 days
implicit attitudes
Not consciously held Not consciously accessed Not consciously expressed Automatic processing
Petty, Cacioppo, & Goldman (1981)
Participants: College Students Task: Read arguments in favor of mandatory comprehensive exams Group 1: Personal relevance (next year v. 10 years) Group 2: Argument strength (high v. low quality) Group 3: Prestige of speaker (Princeton professor v. HS student) DV: How much do you agree with the speaker's position?
Factors that influence a person's motivation to process a message deeply (use of the central route):
Personal relevance of the topic Need for cognition -the tendency to enjoy and engage in deliberate thoughts Mood Age
"Matching" Approaches
Persuasion attempt should "match" attitude base or function
elaboration likelihood model
Petty & Cacioppo, 1986 Attitude change occurs in two ways 1. Central route 2. Peripheral route
Learning by association: classical conditioning
Stimulus that elicits an emotional response is paired with a neutral stimulus until the neutral stimulus takes on the emotional properties of the first stimulus Usually leads to affectively- based and implicit attitudes
subliminal advertising... a real study
Task: Listen to audio-taped subliminal messages IV: audio tape with "subliminal messages" Group 1: memory Group 2: self-esteem DVs: memory improvement; self-esteem improvement Results: Neither tape had any effect But participants thought the tapes worked
one instance vs aggregate
The amount of times the behavior occurs matters
step-back-and-ask-why approach
Wait until you have distance from a problem/event Then write about it for 15 min/day for 3-4 days
tunnel vision (Roskos-Ewoldsen and Fazio, 1992)
We pay more attention to objects for which we have strong attitudes When those objects are present, we pay less attention to other items
advertising on television
What's the purpose of TV? -To inform and entertain the public? -To provide a captive audience for marketers By age 75, the average American will spend more than 8 years watching TV -Approximately 18 ads per 30 minutes of air time
Which of the following lines from an advertisement would be most effective for marketing to Shen-Wei, a 54-year old man from China?
"Doesn't your family deserve the best car you can afford?"
Yale Attitude Change Approach (1940s, 1950s)
"WHO says WHAT to WHOM"
do good, be good principle
(from prosociality chapter): helping others helps you feel better about yourself too (sense of self-worth, self-esteem)
growth vs fixed mindset
*Fixed:* has to prove smartness, smart people do not make mistakes, effort is unneccesary, success is natural, good score= smart *Growth:* learning and stretching ones mind is achieving, wants to make progress/accepts challenges, effort is neccessary/you get what you give, good score= hard work
self-esteem and dissonance
-High Self-Esteem: experience the most dissonance when they behave in ways that contradict their high opinions of themselves ---> will work harder to reduce it than those w/ average S.E. -Low Self-Esteem: don't feel as much dissonance when they commit an immoral or stupid act
independent vs interdependent views of the self
-independent: a way of defining oneself in terms of ones own internal thoughts, feelings, and actions and not in terms of the thoughts feelings, and actions of other people -interdependent: a way of defining oneself in terms of ones relationships to other people, recognizing that one behavior is often determined by the thoughts, feelings, and actions of others
Internal v external justifications (examples, how leads to behavior/attitude change
-internal: the reduction of dissonance by changing something about oneself (attitude or behavior) -external: a reason or an explanation for dissonant personal behavior that resides outside the individual (wanting a big reward or avoiding a severe punishment)
outsider/observer vs insider perspectives on self
-social comparison theory: people learn about their own abilities by comparing themselves to others -people socially compare when there is no objective standard to measure themselves against -people find it most informative to compare themselves to others who have a is liar background in the area in question upward social comparison: comparing ourselves to people who are better than we are with regard to a particular trait or ability downward social comparison: comparing ourselves to people who are worse then we are with regard to a particular trait comparing our current performance with our past performance
introspection
A method of self-observation in which participants report their thoughts and feelings
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.
social desirability
A tendency to give socially approved answers to questions about oneself.
theory of planned behavior
A theory stating that the best predictor of a behavior is one's behavioral intention, which is influenced by one's attitude toward the specific behavior, the subjective norms regarding the behavior, and one's perceived control over the behavior.
ABCs of attitude
Affect (feelings), Behavior tendency, and Cognition (thoughts)
cross cultural research on attitudes
Are ads similar across cultures? Interdependent/Collectivist cultures have ads that focus more on social standing, providing for your family Ads usually match the cultural values that are most important
moral mandates
Attitudes more likely to be experienced as universally applicable, independent of authority dictates, and have deep ties to emotion
Learning by reinforcement and punishment: operant conditioning
Behaviors that people freely choose to perform increase or decrease in frequency, depending on whether they are followed by positive reinforcement or punishment. Usually leads to behaviorally-based and implicit attitudes
reactance theory
Brehm's theory that we react against threats to our freedoms by reasserting those freedoms, often by doing the opposite of what we are being pressured to do
Role of automatic thinking
Dissonance reduction is largely a process that occurs automatically, outside of awareness
optimism
Hopefulness and confidence about the future or the successful outcome of something
too much fear?
If audience is scared to death, they will become defensive, deny the importance of the threat, be unable to think rationally
pennebaker writing technique
In your writing, I would like you to really let go and explore your very deepest emotions and thoughts about the most traumatic experience in your entire life. You might tie this trauma to other parts of your life: your childhood, your relationships with others, including parents, lovers, friends, relatives, or other people important to you. You might link your writing to your future and who you would like to become your future, or to who you have been, who you would like to be, or who you are now. Not everyone has had a single trauma, but all of us have had major conflicts or stressors, and you can write about these as well. All your writing is confidential. There will be no sharing of content. Do not worry about form or style, spelling, punctuation, sentence structure, or grammar.
What was the major problem with the Yale Approach to Attitude Change?
It was not clear when one factor (e.g., expertise) should be emphasized over others (e.g., audience age).
immune neglect/psychological immune system
Just like your physical immune system will bring you back to health when ill, your psychological immune system will do the same at times of mental confusion, anxiety, or sadness.
external and internal justifications and $20 vs $1 study
Leon Festinger and J. Merrill Carlsmith (1959) college students were induced to spend n hour forming a series of boring tasks. The experimenter told them that the purpose of the study was to determine whether or not people would perform better if they were told before hand that the tasks were interest. They were all told that they were in the control condition (so told beforehand). Then, a young woman comes in and says she is apart of the study. The experimenter says that he needs to convince the girl that the tasks are interesting. The experimenter says that its much more convincing for a fellow student to tell her, so he induces them to lie to the girl. Half were offered $20 for lying and the rest were offered $1. After the experiment was over, the participants were asked how much they enjoyed the tasks. The students that were offered $20 said it was boring and enjoyable. The students given $1 rated the tasks significantly more unenjoyable. People who received an abundance of external justification for lying told the lie but didn't believe it, whereas those who told the lie without much external justification convinced themselves that what they said was closer to the truth
high and low self-monitors
Low self monitors tend to use inner beliefs and values in deciding how to behave, while high self monitors tend to monitor their surroundings and change their behavior to fit in
Why would anyone want to use fear in a commercial?
Moderately fearful messages grab the attention of the target audience.
self-concept: the roles we play
New roles may feel inauthentic, uncomfortable. Role playing eventually becomes reality. Example: First day of work.
two-sided arguments
People are more persuaded if it appears that both sides of an issue are being considered.
too little fear?
People won't pay attention, and may tune out or only pay attention to peripheral cues
public vs private self-consciousness
Private self-consciousness is a tendency to introspect and examine one's inner self and feelings. Public self-consciousness is an awareness of the self as it is viewed by others.
Which of the following best illustrates the expression of an implicit attitude?
Randi feels nervous around her friend's friend, who is a lesbian
Based on research described in the chapter, who is most likely to lower their perceptions that boxing is dangerous to your neurological health:
Rayla, who knows it's dangerous but boxes weekly
self-accuracy vs self-enhancement motives
Self-enhancement is a type of motivation that works to make people feel good about themselves and to maintain self-esteem. This motive becomes especially prominent in situations of threat, failure or blows to one's self-esteem. Self-enhancement involves a preference for positive over negative self-views. The Accuracy Motive is basically choosing right from wrong based upon our own personal beliefs and our demeanors.
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.
insufficient punishment and study toys
The forbidden toy experiment children who had received a threat of mild punishment were far less likely to play with a forbidden toy than children who has received a threat severe punishment. Those given a mild threat had to provide their own justification by devaluing the attractiveness of the toy. The resulting self-persuasion lasted for weeks
justification of effort and initiation study
The justification of effort the more effort we put into becoming members of a group, and the tougher the initiation, the more we will like the group we have just joined-- even if it turns out to be a dud
the looking glass self and pope study
The looking-glass self describes the process wherein individuals base their sense of self on how they believe others view them. Using social interaction as a type of "mirror," people use the judgments they receive from others to measure their own worth, values, and behavior. According to Self, Symbols, & Society, Cooley's theory is notable because it suggests that self-concept is built not in solitude, but rather within social settings. In this way, society and individuals are not separate, but rather two complementary aspects of the same phenomenon.
recognizing the self (rouge test)
The mirror test - sometimes called the mark test, mirror self-recognition test (MSR), red spot technique, or rouge test - is a behavioural technique developed in 1970 by psychologist Gordon Gallup Jr. as an attempt to determine whether an animal possesses the ability of visual self-recognition.
Toph is experiencing low self-esteem. According to the chapter, how can she best rebuild her self-confidence?
Toph should write about how her life is the best it could have possibly been
link between optimism and creativity
Training in optimism can help you learn how to be more optimistic and behave in these ways (e.g., writing task - 20 min for 4 days in a row- think about how everything in your life has gone as well as it possibly could)
gender differences in defining the self
Women - relational interdependence; focus on close relationships. Men - collective interdependence, focus on larger groups. Sexes are more similar than different.
peer pressure
a feeling that you should do something because that is what your friends want
self-persuasion
a long-lasting form of attitude change that results from attempts at self-justification
product placement
a public relations strategy that involves getting a product, service, or company name to appear in a movie, television show, radio program, magazine, newspaper, video game, video or audio clip, book, or commercial for another product; on the Internet; or at special events
working self-concept
a subset of self-knowledge that is brought to mind in a particular context
terror management theory
a theory of death-related anxiety; explores people's emotional and behavioral responses to reminders of their impending death
What's the most common form of persuasive appeal?
advertising
It is estimated that nearly one-third of the electorate knows almost nothing about specific politicians. Nonetheless, these people hold very strong attitudes about them. This pattern of findings suggests that people's attitudes toward politicians may be largely...
affectively based
your little sister enjoys taking time out of her day to make bead necklaces. A birthday party is coming up, and you decide you want to give a necklace to each person at the party. She offers to make a necklace for each of your friends, but for added motivation you give her a dollar for each one she makes. Which the following is most likely to happen?
after the party, your sister will enjoy making beads less than she did before, because you rewarded her for something she already liked to do
a school principal who wants to reduce vandalism has several students who are notorious for graffiti give a speech to the entire school about the negative aspects of vandalizing school property. Which of the following should the principal do to make it most likely that these students will stop vandalizing the school, according to research using the hypocrisy paradigm?
after they make the speech, he should ask them to remember times they have committed vandalism
imagine a year before a test, the professor told Jake that if he is caught cheating, he will be expelled. Imagine that the professor told amanda that if caught cheating, her only punishment will be to write a shower paper about why cheating is wrong. If both students don't cheat, what would dissonance theory predict?
amanda will feel more honest than jake will
fear appeals
an advertising strategy that emphasizes harmful physical or social consequences Goal: to try to scare the audience into performing a particular behavior or adopting a specific attitude Do they work? Yes, if... 1. Moderate amount of fear 2. Information provided on how to reduce fear
message characteristics
aspects of the message itself Quality of the evidence Explicitness of its conclusions
reasons-generated attitude change
attitude change resulting from thinking about the reasons for one's attitudes; people assume that their attitudes match the reasons that are plausible and easy to verbalize
Martine is preparing for her class debate on nationally eliminating 3rd strike laws. She is worried about getting swayed by the opposing side, so she briefly looks at political cartoons about the dangers of repeat offenders. They are brief and amusing, and she thinks they're a nice break from her own preparations. This is best considered an example of:
attitude inoculation
all of the following are true about attitudes except one. Which one is false?
attitudes rarely change overtime
ego-defensive function
attitudes that enable people to maintain cherished beliefs about themselves, and protect us from unpleasant facts or emotions Example: Terror management theory
knowledge function
attitudes that help organize our understanding of the world Guide what we attend to and remember Example: attitudes about familiar objects
value-expressive function
attitudes that help us express our most cherished values, usually in groups where these values can be supported and reinforced Reference groups: groups whose opinions matter to us and that affect our opinions and beliefs Example: Diversity Committee
utilitarian function
attitudes that serve to alert us to rewarding objects we should approach, and to costly or punishing objects we should avoid Activated by current goals to trigger actions that will help us complete those goals Example: Conditioned taste aversion
predictive vs spontaneous behavior
attitudes will predict spontaneous behaviors only when they are highly accessible to people attitude accessibility: the strength of association between an attitude object and a person's evaluation of that object measured by the speed with which people can report how they feel about the object the best known theory of how attitudes predict deliberative behaviors is the theory of planned behavior: the idea that peoples intentions are the best predictors of their deliberate behaviors, which are determined by their attitudes toward specific behaviors, their subjective norms, and their perceived behavioral control
When something good unexpectedly happens to you, you can prolong your positive feelings by:
avoiding thinking about why it happened
cultural truisms
beliefs that most members of a society accept as self-evidently true
Types of self-persuasion and how they occur
central route to persuasion: the case in which people elaborate on a persuasive communication, listen carefully to and thinking about the arguments, which occurs when people have both the ability and the motivation to listen carefully to a communication peripheral route to persuasion: the case in which people do not elaborate on the arguments in a persuasive communication but are instead swayed by peripheral cues
source characteristics
characteristics of the person who delivers the message Attractiveness Credibility Expertise
How are implicit attitudes most likely formed?
classical conditioning
Paige wants to buy a puppy. She does some research and decides to buy an English Springer Spaniel rather than a Great Dane because they are smaller, more active, and good with children. Which type of attitude influenced her decision?
cognitively based attitude
upward social comparison
comparing ourselves to people who are better than we are with regard to a particular trait or ability
downward social comparison
comparing ourselves to people who are worse than we are with regard to a particular trait or ability
your friend Jane is interning at a law firm. When you ask her how it's going she says, "fine, im doing much better than the intern who started a month after me" What kind of social comparison is jane making?
downward social comparison
agenda control
efforts of the media to select certain events and topics to emphasize, thereby shaping which issues and events people pay attention to
narcissism
excessive self-love and self-absorption
attitude
favorable or unfavorable evaluations of people, objects, and ideas displayed through one's beliefs, feelings, or intended behavior
all of the following are examples of ways to resist persuasion except
forbidding people to buy a product
If you want your parents to loan you money for a used car, you should:
get them to agree to it by text or email
On a survey, Milo reports that he agrees with wearing a seatbelt. According to the theory of planned behavior what else will predict whether Milo will wear a seatbelt on a given day?
his best friend, trevor, was in the car and also wore a seatbelt
dissonance and values/attitude change
imagine two students taking an exam. Both are tempted to cheat. Initially, their attitudes towards cheating are almost identical, but then one impulsively cheats and the other does not. Their attitudes will then undergo predictable changes.
self-affirmation and dissonance
in the context of dissonance theory, a way of reducing dissonance by reminding oneself of one's positive attributes
According to reactance theory, what of the following public service messages would be least likely to get people to wear seat belts?
its the law-- you must wear your seatbelt
social comparisons
judgments of one's own appearance, abilities, and behavior in relation to those of others
after spending two years fixing up an old home themselves, which involved many hours of tedious work, abby and brian are ben more convinced that why made the right choice of house. According to the dissonance theory, this is an example of
justifying their effort
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 _________________.
low, decide you like the shoes
which of the following techniques relating to post-decision dissonance could a clothing store use to increase customer satisfaction?
make all sales final
You are trying to sell a new electronic toothbrush at the airport to busy, distracted travelers. Which of the following is least likely to be successful at getting people to buy a toothbrush?
make up a flier that gives convincing reasons why the toothbrush is so good
according to research on sex differences in how people define themselves
men have more collective interdependence than women
sleeper effect
messages from unreliable sources initially exert little influence but later cause individuals' attitudes to shift
Kenneth's mother always praises him when he practices the piano and denies him dessert when he doesn't. Kenneth's mother is apparently employing techniques based on ____ in order to encourage her son to practice more.
operant conditioning
social tuning and t-shirt study
participants took a test of automatic prejudice toward black people, after interacting with an experimenter who was likable or unlikeable and wore an antiracism T-shirt or a blank T-shirt. When the experimenter was likable, participants showed less automatic prejudice when she was wearing the antiracism T-shirt than when she was not. When the experimenter was unlikable, participants reacted against her views: they showed more automatic prejudice when she was wearing the antiracist t-shirt than when she was not. These results show that people tend to automatically adopt the views of people they like, but automatically reject the views of people they do not
reference groups
people to whom an individual looks as a basis for self-appraisal or as a source of personal standards
which of the following is true about self-esteem and narcissism?
people who are optimistic (but not narcissistic) persevere more in the face of failure and set higher goals than do other people
positives and negatives of self focus
pros: highlights your positive accomplishments, more likely to follow your moral standards, cons: evaluate and compare our current behavior to our internal standards and values, become self conscious, you are more likely to be in a bad mood when thinking about yourself; can develop bad behavior: alcoholism, binge eating, etc.
megan has been accepted to two top graduate schools. According to cognitive dissonance theory, under which of the following conditions will she experience the most dissonance?
right after she deiced what program to attend and notifies the school of her decision
Which of the following is most closely related to the concept of behaviorally-based attitudes?
self-perception theory
suppose you meet jessica, a student in your psychology class who is very friendly, and you like her immediately. She tells you about her recent trip to france and how much he loved it. Later on at a study-abroad session, you find yourself drawn to the program in Paris. This would be an example of
social tuning
you are required to sell $30 souvenir books for a club fund-raiser. How could you use the technique of lowballing to improve your sales?
start by selling books at $25, but once the customer has retrieved his or her checkbook, tell them or her you made a mistake and the books are actually $5 more expensive than you thought
according to self-perception theory, which of the following audience members would enjoy the taping go The Daily Show with Jon Stewart the most?
stephen, who noticed the he was laughing more than other people
Based on dissonance theory, if a company wants to limit the amount of stolen workplace supplies in a region, they should:
tell the workers in that region how great they are
self-control
the ability to control impulses and delay short-term gratification for greater long-term rewards
impression management
the attempt by people to get others to see them as they want to be seen
cross-cultural differences in impression management
the attempt by people to get others to see them as they want to be seen in asian cultures, people tend to have more interdependent views of themselves -avoid public embarrassment -Japanese people are very concerned with having the "right" guests at their weddings and an appropriate number of mourners at funerals. So concerned that if need be, they will go to a "convenience agency" and rent people.
which of the following statements is least true, according to research on self-knowledge?
the best way to know "thyself" is to look inward, introspecting about ourselves
LaPiere's (1934) study about touring the United States with a Chinese couple is often used to describe...
the effect of attitudes on behavior is weaker than many people think.
affective forecasting and breakup study
the extent to which people can predict the intensity and duration of their emotional reactions to future events
schacter-singer two-factor theory of emotion and study using injections
the idea that emotional experience is the result of a two step self-perception process in which people first experience physiological arousal and then seek an appropriate explanation for it In a 1962 experiment, Schachter and Singer put their theory to the test. A group of 184 male participants was injected with epinephrine, a hormone that produces arousal including increased heartbeat, trembling, and rapid breathing. All of the participants were told that they were being injected with a new drug to test their eyesight. However, one group of participants was informed the possible side-effects that the injection might cause while the other group of participants was not. Participants were then placed in a room with another participant who was actually a confederate in the experiment. The confederate either acted in one of two ways: euphoric or angry. Participants who had not been informed about the effects of the injection were more likely to feel either happier or angrier than those who had been informed. Those who were in a room with the euphoric confederate were more likely to interpret the side effects of the drug as happiness, while those exposed to the angry confederate were more likely to interpret their feelings as anger. Schacter and Singer had hypothesized that if people experienced an emotion for which they had no explanation, they would then label these feelings using their feelings at the moment. The results of the experiment suggested that participants who had no explanation for their feelings were more likely to be susceptible to the emotional influences of the confederate.
illusion of irrevocability
the irrevocability of a decision increases dissonance and motivation to reduce it By using dissonance reduction principles and the illusion of irrevocability, lowballing works to get you to buy the product.
counter-attitudinal advocacy and essay-writing studies
the police and pot. Can you induce a person to change their attitude on topics that really matter? Yes, with small incentives. When Yale University students were offered a large cash reward for writing an essay supporting the excessive force used by the local police, they did not need to convince themselves that they believed what they had written; the external justification was enough. However, when they were induced to write a supportive essay for a small reward, they did soften their attitudes towards the police. When UT students were paid well for writing an essay on the legalization of marijuana, their real attitudes did not change. When they were given only a small fee, they needed to convince themselves that there was she truth in what they had written and their attitudes became more pro legalization
misattribution of arousal and shaky bridge study
the process whereby people make mistaken inferences about what is causing them to feel the way they do when a women approached men on a scary bridge and asked them to fill out a questionnaire, a high percentage of them were attracted to her and called her for a date. When the same women approached men after they had crossed the bridge and had rested, relatively few called her for a date
Emilia would be most likely to pay attention to facts about the danger of AIDS during a school assembly and remember the facts for a long time if
the speaker emphasized how the disease has spread in her community and there isn't anything distracting emilia from listening
overjustification effect and study with children playing games/coloring
the tendency for people to view their behavior as caused by completing extrinsic reasons, making them underestimate the extent to which it was caused by intrinsic reasons during the initial baseline phase (no rewards), researchers measured how much time elementary school students played math games. During the reward program, they rewarded the children with prizes for playing with the games. When the rewards were no longer offered (during the follow-up phase), the children played with the games even less than they had during the baseline phase, indicating that the rewards had lowered their intrinsic interest in the games
identifiable victim effect
the tendency to be more moved by the plight of a single, vivid individual than by a more abstract number of individuals
impact bias
the tendency to overestimate the intensity and duration of one's emotional reactions to future negative events
self-perception theory and the E test
the theory that when our attitudes and feelings are uncertain or ambiguous, we infer these states by observing our behavior and the situation in which it occurs
ingratiation
the use of strategies, such as flattery, by which people seek to gain another's favor
self-knowledge
the way we understand who we are and formulate and organize this information
causal theories
theories about the causes of one's own feelings and behaviors; often we learn such theories from our culture
Under which of the following conditions would people be most likely to vote for a political candidate?
they know little about the candidates policies but have positive feelings towards him or her
tunnel vision
thinking about one part of a plan or problem instead of considering all the parts
on Halloween, you decide to do an experiment. When the trick or treaters arrive at your house, you have them stand in a line on you front porch. You stay outside with the group and let each child enter your house individually. You tell them they can make one piece of candy from the bowl that is sitting on a table. Half of the time you put the candy bowl in front of a big mirror. The other half of the time there is no mirror present. All of the children may be tempted to take more than one piece of candy. Which children are more likely to give into temptation?
those in the no mirror condition
suppose you are babysitting for two boys, brothers who are ages six and three. The older child often beats up on his younger brother. What would be the most effective way to make him stop?
threaten the older child with mild punishment, like sitting in time-out for five minutes, and hope that he obeys
people will be most likely to change their attitudes about smoking if an antismoking advertisement
uses graphic pictures of the damages of smoking on the body and then provides specific recommendations on how to quit smoking
Bess undergoes treatment for drug addiction. According to cognitive dissonance theory, after she leaves the clinic, Bess is most likely to stay off drugs if the treatment at the clinic was
voluntary and a difficult ordeal
third-person effect
we assume that other people are more prone to being influenced by persuasive campaigns than we ourselves are
pleasure of uncertainty
we can prolong positive feelings if we don't know why they occurred (e.g., dollar study)
Elise wants to increase her ability at self-control such as spending more time studying. Which of the following is least likely to work?
when she is studying, she should try hard to suppress thoughts about the party she could have gone to
subliminal messages
words or pictures that are not consciously perceived but supposedly influence people's judgments, attitudes, and behaviors Selling sex
Based on the Ben Franklin effect, you are most likely to increase your liking for Tony when
you lend Tony $10
Catherine did very will on her math test. Which of the following statements should her mother tell her to increase her chances that Catherine will not give up on math if it later becomes more difficult for her?
you really worked hard for this test and your hard work paid off!
suppose that while you are watching a film at a movie theater the words "drink coke" are slashed on the screen at speeds too quick for you to see consciously. According to research on subliminal perception, which of the following is most true?
you will be no more likely to buy a coke than if the subliminal messages were not flashed
William James (Father of American Psychology)
"A man has as many social selves as there are people (groups) who recognize him... You at home, school, church, parties, etc.
public self-consciousness
"I care a lot about how I present myself to others" "I'm self-conscious about the way I look"
private self-consciousness
"I'm always trying to figure myself out" "I'm quick to notice changes in my mood"
Loevinger (1969)
"To integrate experience is not one ego function among many, but the essence of ego."
upward comparisons
Can provide information about how to improve (need for accuracy) Can inspire you to work towards your goals (e.g., cancer patients) Can also make you feel inferior
western culture: independent view of self
Defining self in terms of one's own internal thoughts, feelings, and actions and not in terms of thoughts, feelings and actions of other people. Less self-critical
other cultures: interdependent view of self
Defining self in terms of one's relationships to others, recognizing that one's behavior is often determined by the thoughts, feelings, and actions of others. More self-critical
how do we measure attitudes?
Explicitly: person is aware that the question is designed to assess their attitude Implicitly: person may not be aware that the question is designed to assess their attitude
Schachter-Singer two-factor theory of emotion
Factor 1: Physiological arousal Factor 2: Seek to explain arousal
attitudes
Favorable or unfavorable evaluations of people, objects, and ideas that are displayed through one's beliefs, feelings, or behavior
factors that impact happiness
Helping others Feeling gratitude & awe Having meaning in your life Genetic factors Having good health Having enough money to live comfortably Living in a country with political stability Living in a country that is economically stable Living in a country with a low amount of income inequality Feeling like you have control in your life Being optimistic Feeling like you have a purpose Having strong social relationships
hope
Hope leads to using more positive strategies for improving/coping, less depression and more happiness, fewer health problems, higher goals for yourself, trying harder to reach those goals Coping with setbacks or negative life events Attribute these to factors you can control in life (like with growth mindsets - attributing them to your abilities, which we know can be improved) Training in optimism can help you learn how to be more optimistic and behave in these ways (e.g., writing task - 20 min for 4 days in a row- think about how everything in your life has gone as well as it possibly could)
explicit vs implicit bias
IAT measures predict prejudiced behaviors better than explicit measures for socially sensitive topics
how other people judge us
Important others are particularly influential. Catholic students were exposed to a scowling face of the Pope or an unknown person They then evaluated themselves. Results: More negative self-evaluations if they viewed the scowling Pope
why does war often lead to dehumanization?
In order to justify our bad behavior towards others, we convince ourselves that they are bad. Because of cognitive dissonance processes, we dislike those we treat poorly.
performance-contingent > Task-contingent rewards
Less likely to affect interest in the task May even motivate you to do well!
downward comparisons
Make us feel better about ourselves Self-esteem motives
what are predictors of IAT scores?
Media and culturally transmitted stereotypes Personal experiences Amount of contact/comfort with social group Our own, conscious beliefs (as before, may correlate negatively or not at all) Specific members of the group you are thinking about Situational/environmental context Family or friends Personality traits Intelligence Emotions, such as anxiety, fear or disgust
coping with setbacks or negative life events
Mindsets - growth v fixed mindsets Pennebaker writing technique/Step-back-and-ask-why approach Wait until you have distance from a problem/event Then write about it for 15 min/day for 3-4 days
self-consciousness
People differ in how much they chronically focus on the self
what makes the IAT different from explicit measures?
People may not explicitly state they are prejudiced because of how they will be viewed by others (self-presentation) People may lack introspective awareness of their own prejudice. They may think, feel, or act prejudicially, without conscious awareness
focusing on the self: mirrors
People who are feeling more self-aware are more likely to show positive moral behavior Those from Eastern cultures may already have a strong outsider's focus on the self
for positive life events, don't try to think about why
Pleasure of uncertainty - we can prolong positive feelings if we don't know why they occurred (e.g., dollar study) To more generally feel happier, write about something good in your lives as though it had never happened - "without x, I would be..."
lowballing
Remember: the irrevocability of a decision almost always increases dissonance and the motivation to reduce it. The shady strategy whereby a salesperson induces a customer to agree to purchase a product at a low price, and then later raises the price. Why do people do this? Because it WORKS.
rewarding behavior can be risky
Rewards can be especially risky for intrinsically motivated people Replacing intrinsic motivation with extrinsic motivation makes people lose interest in the activity they initially enjoyed
rewarding behavior
Rewards can be powerful motivators We look to rewards to infer whether or not we like doing something What's wrong with that? We begin to think we are doing the behavior to earn the reward, not because we find it enjoyable
focusing on the self
Self-focus is not always aversive After successes, self-focus is pleasant Self-focus can also be adaptive: it can keep you out of trouble by reminding you of your sense of right and wrong
the IAT
The IAT pairs words and images, often positive and negative words with controversial or socially-relevant images It allows time for practicing the pairings and counterbalances the blocks This test is about associating different constructs with positive or negative impressions/attitudes
where does dissonance come from?
The need to feel consistent (Festinger) The need to maintain positive self-image (modern theories) Cognitive dissonance is most aversive when we act in ways that are inconsistent with our positive self-image.
how do we know if we're happy?
We may introspect (sometimes), but... We're bad at affective forecasting: predicting our future emotions (including both happiness and sadness) and how long they'll last
overall, how do we know if we're happy?
We use our self-esteem We compare ourselves to others We look to our social roles and social identities We use what others think of us We use cultural expectations
the looking glass self
We view ourselves through the eyes of others and incorporate their perceptions of us into our self-concept. How others react to us is very important
automaticity premise
- We compare things all the time. - Social comparison is just one type of a If we need to be efficient in our comparisons, we should access a comparison target quickly and without effort. We should use targets that we've used before, even if they aren't ideal anymore - Efficiency should be important Use accessible targets for new comparisons
insufficient punishment
-The dissonance that occurs when individuals lack sufficient external justification for having resisted a desired activity or object; usually results in people devaluing the forbidden activity or object Bottom line: self-justification leads to self-persuasion
gilbert and wilson (2010)
-surveyed undergrads who were in a relationship and asked them to predict how unhappy they'd be 2 months after a breakup They surveyed them again later and asked who'd experienced a breakup, when it happened, and how they felt currently Found that people who were 2 months out from a breakup were about as happy as those who hadn't broken up BUT they'd anticipated being much worse off
how can we reduce dissonance?
1. Change the behavior "I'll stop doing X" 2. Change our cognition "X isn't actually bad" 3. Add consonant cognitions "X makes me happy, so I'll keep doing it" Consonant cognitions: thoughts that are in agreement with our own beliefs
Attitudes are a poor predictor of behavior...unless we account for the following factors:
1. Real v. expressed attitudes -A measured attitude may not be a person's true attitude 2. One instance v. aggregate -The amount of times the behavior occurs matters 3.Saliency of attitudes -Is the attitude on their mind when the behavioral choice occurs? 4. Attitude level must match behavior level -Specificity matters!
self-esteem
A person's overall self-evaluation or sense of self worth The affective component of the self-concept -explicitly, measure by using surveys -Implicitly, outside of awareness: The more you are attracted to people or objects similar to you, the higher your self-esteem.
narcissistic personality disorder
A pervasive pattern of grandiosity (in fantasy or behavior), need for admiration, and lack of empathy, beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts, as indicated by five (or more) of these: Has a grandiose sense of self-importance (e.g., exaggerates achievements and talents) Is preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance, beauty, or ideal love Believes that he or she is "special" and can only be understood by, or should associate with other special people Requires excessive admiration Has a sense of entitlement Is interpersonally exploitative Lacks empathy Is often envious of others or believes others are envious of him or her Shows arrogant, haughty behaviors or attitudes
why lowballing works
By using dissonance reduction principles and the illusion of irrevocability, lowballing works to get you to buy the product. 1. Agreeing to a price creates the illusion of irrevocability. 2. The feeling of commitment triggers an anticipated emotion. Walking away empty-handed→dissonance and disappointment. 3. The price is probably not too far off from that which you'd find somewhere else.
dissonance reduction in action
Dissonance reduction is largely a process that occurs automatically, outside of awareness Dissonance serves as a psychological immune system to keep you feeling good about the choices you make and events that happen to you
things we dont do so well
Explaining our own behavior Introspection = the process by which people look inward and examine their own thoughts, feelings and motives We can often be aware of the results of our thinking process without being aware of the process itself. Problems : 1. People don't rely on introspection as much as we think we might. 2. Even when people do introspect, the reasons for their feelings and behavior can be hidden from conscious awareness.
Which of the following is an example of adding a consonant cognition in response to cognitive dissonance?
Finally deciding to switch to a reusable water bottle isntead of buying plastic bottles when you want something to drink
purpose
Find a sense of purpose in the things you do in life (your job, your hobbies, your family/friends, your volunteering) The do good, be good principle (from prosociality chapter): helping others helps you feel better about yourself too (sense of self-worth, self-esteem) You can also find purpose in how you interpret or construe things in your current life
when self esteem goes bad
High self-esteem + Social rejection→Aggression
Claire felt a great deal of dissonance when one of her company's products was found to be harming people, and she took it off the market immediately. Who is most likely to feel dissonance on her behalf:
Michiko, an old friend that Claire met while traveling in Tokyo
male self concepts
More collectivistic interdependent self concept. They focus on their memberships in larger groups, such as the fact that they are Americans or belong to a fraternity
women self concepts
More relational interdependent self-concept. They focus more on close relationships, such as how they feel about a spouse/child/best friend.
the self concepts
Self-concept = a picture of who you are Possible selves (e.g., past selves and future selves) Self-conceptions that describe what you were, could/want to be Healthy, Successful, Parent, etc. Can be generated from the standpoint of yourself or other people.
social comparison summary
Social Comparison Theory (Festinger, 1954): We learn about ourselves by comparing ourselves to others Similar others = accurate self-knowledge Those who are better off (upward social comparisons) = guidance, but decreased self-esteem Those who are worse off (downward social comparisons) = no guidance, but increased self-esteem Chronically accessible, but not always ideal target = efficient self-knowledge
unity vs multiple selves
Unity of self is its defining feature. The self-concept is all of the characteristics you list in "who am I?" Working self-concept = the set of self-conceptions we are aware of at any given point in time Made salient through priming, motivation, chronic vs. temporary Because we are aware of only certain self-conceptions at any given point in time, incompatible self-conceptions can co-exist.
Katherine has to complete a day of volunteering before she's allowed to join a student group on campus. Which of the following options is most likely to make her appreciate that group?
Volunteering with a group of close friends sorting clothing from a donation drive
self-concept: social comparison theory
We evaluate our abilities and opinions in comparison to others. -We have a desire to be accurate, so we want to know where we stack up on abilities. We have a desire to be liked, so we want to know how our opinions line up with others'. When absolute, objective standards are absent or when they feel uncertain, people will compare themselves with others to assess their abilities and opinions. Example: What does a 63 on an Organic Chemistry Exam MEAN?
social comparison targets: self-report
What if you just ask people to whom they compare themselves? Cancer patients Few comparisons to similar others (16%) Upward comparisons for information To know it's possible to get better and learn how Downward comparisons for self-esteem To make themselves feel better about their own condition
self-perception theory
When our attitudes and feelings are uncertain or ambiguous, we infer these states by observing our own behavior -accounts for responses when people's attitudes are vague or uncertain -I ate the whole bag of chips?...I must have been hungry. -I've been biting my nails all day...something must be bugging me. -I was smiling while I watched those cartoons...they must have been funny.
insufficient justification
When there isn't enough external justification, we search for internal justification, and are likely to change our attitudes to match our behaviors.
self-concept: social identities we form
Who we are takes into account who we are not. Group memberships are a large part of the self-concept. We think less about our social identities when our group is part of the majority.
self-concept
Your answers to the question "Who Am I?" reveals the content of your self-concept Our self-concept is organized into many self-schemas.
cognitive dissonance (festinger, 1957)
a feeling of discomfort caused by holding two or more inconsistent cognitions Later additions: -inconsistency between attitudes and behavior with consequence (Cooper & Fazio, 1984) -inconsistency between self-standards and behavior (Stone & Cooper, 2001)
Compared to people with high self-esteem, people with low self-esteem have ____.
a harder time motivating themselves when changes arise
self persuasion
a long-lasting form of attitude change that results from attempts at self-justification
external justification
a reason or an explanation for dissonant personal behavior that resides outside the individual (e.g., a large reward, severe punishment)
cognitive dissonance theory
accounts for responses when people have well-defined attitudes
According to research on optimism, optimists:
confront their problems and prepare better for the future
Same initial attitudes + Different behaviors=
divergent behaviors
Claire's partner lost his temper in a recent argument and slapped her hard. After thinking about the fight for several days, she decides to stay and work things out. According to dissonance theory, she is likely to:
downplay how serious it was and be more tolerant of violence from him in the future
focalism
focusing on one central aspect of your life or a predicted event and ignoring all of the other factors that may impact our happiness E.g., study surveying Midwesterners about moving to California Said they'd be happier living there, but actual happiness rates in both states are the same Peak moments and ending moments matter the most in how we remember happy experiences
According to the chapter, what is the do good, be good principle:
helping others also helps us be happier
Katara spends a lot of time thinking about her own motivations and thoughts - about why she feels and believes and behaves the way she does. Katara is best described as spending a lot of time in ____.
introspection
Momo takes a survey and finds that he is high in narcissism. According to the book, this suggests he:
is less happy than other people
self-schemas
mental structures that people use to organize their knowledge about themselves and that influence what they notice, think about, and remember about themselves.
performance-contingent rewards
people get rewards depending on how well they perform the task
task-contingent rewards
people only get them for completing the task, regardless of how well they do it
extrinsic motivation
performing an activity because of something that results from it Jennifer Aniston actually dislikes Aveeno , but she endorses it because she wants the money
holistic self-descriptions
refer to characteristics so comprehensive or vague that they do not distinguish one person from another.
physical self-descriptions
refer to physical qualities that do not imply social interaction, "identification card" type information.
psychological self-descriptions
refer to psychological traits and states and to attitudes which do not refer to particular social referents.
social self-descriptions
refer to relationships, group memberships, social roles, and attitudes which are socially defined and validated.
what does the IAT measure?
strength of these associations ( Faster responses = stronger associations)
over justification effect
tendency for people to view their behavior as caused by extrinsic reasons, making them underestimate the extent to which it was caused by intrinsic reasons
internal justification
the reduction of dissonance by changing something about oneself (e.g., attitude, behavior)
justification of efforts
the tendency for individuals to increase their liking for something they have worked hard to attain
immune neglect
the tendency to underestimate how resilient we are after negative life events Our "psychological immune system" helps us get over stressors/negative life events -Wilson
When Flynn makes the difficult decision that they won't try out their friend's motorcycle because there's no helmet they can wear, they're likely to:
think that driving a motorcycle is even more dangerous than they did before
The best way to cope with negative life events is by:
waiting until time has passed and then thinking about why the event happened
intrinsic motivation
wanting to perform an activity for its own sake Jennifer Aniston loves Aveeno so much that she would endorse it for free if they wanted her to
The term "looking-glass self" was coined to refer to the idea that ____.
we learn about ourselves from other people
Self-affirmation can be harmful in which of the following scenarios:
when a cancer patient uses it to justify not completing a difficult treatment
self-awareness theory
when people focus their attention on themselves, they evaluate and compare their behavior to internal standards When our behaviors do not line up with our internal standards, this self-focus is uncomfortable and aversive
ought self
who we should be, determined by a sense of duty, responsibility, or obligation
idea self
who we want to be; determined by hopes, wishes and dreams
Your friend Jada shows you a gift she bought for her girlfriend's birthday. It's a glass pendant shaped like a rabbit that reads "some bunny loves you" at the bottom. Even though you think it's ugly, you say "It's so cute" when she asks what you think because you know she'd be hurt otherwise. You ______ experience dissonance because there is sufficient ______ justification for your words.
will not; external
Suki generally has high self-esteem. According to research, this suggests she:
will set higher, more difficult to attain goals
self concept: successes and failures
• Self-esteem correlates with experiences of success and failure. • Failure and problems lead to low self-esteem AND low self- esteem also leads to failure and problems. • We take success and failure as objective indicators of what we are good/not good at, and incorporate these into our self- concept.
similarity hypothesis
▪ We deliberately choose our comparison target ▪ Ideally, we would compare ourselves to someone similar in ability, but a little bit better than us Example: How good am I at basketball? ➢Michael Jordan ➢My 6 year old cousin ➢My friend Justin who also played high school basketball