SP Ch. 6

self-compassion

Being kind to ourselves when we suffer, fail, or feel inadequate, recognizing that imperfection is part of the human condition, and accepting rather than denying negative feelings about ourselves.

who came up with free choice paradigm?

Brehm

In line with the better than average effect, if the judgments for this task were for all negative traits (e.g., hostile, mean, dishonest), participants would likely?

rate themselves lower on the traits compared to ratings of "most other people".

If the importance of a violated belief increases for an individual, the strength of the cognitive dissonance is _____

stronger

When people's freely chosen behavior conflicts with their attitudes, the more committed they are to the action...

the more dissonance they expirience

According to Festinger people experience cognitive dissonance when they perceive a conflict between

their actions and their attitudes

when people experience cognitive dissonance, what can they do to reduce the dissonance?

they could change their attitude

Research suggests that people tend to think that their shortcomings are ______ , whereas their strengths are _______ , which likely plays a role in the better than average effect

common, unique

cynical performances

conscious attempts to perform in a certain way to make a particular impression

if the external justification is very strong...

dissonance will be low

In a study conducted by Svenson (1981), drivers were interviewed while hospitalized for being in a car accident. The majority of those interviewed rated their driving skill as closer to _____ than ______ which provides support for the better than average effect

expert, poor

Mrs. Vasquez is already imagining the person she will become at retirement in several years. What term describes her process of thinking?

possible selves

There are three primary ways to reduce dissonance:

1. Change one of the cognitions. 2. Add a third cognition that makes the original two cognitions seem less inconsistent with each other. 3. Trivialize the cognitions that are inconsistent.

self-concept clarity

A clearly defined, internally consistent, and temporally stable self-concept.

self-narritive

A coherent life story that connects one's past, present, and possible future

induced hypocrisy paradigm

A laboratory situation in which participants are asked to advocate an opinion they already believe in, but then are reminded about a time when their actions ran counter to that opinion, thereby arousing dissonance

induced compliance paradigm

A laboratory situation in which participants are induced to engage in a behavior that runs counter to their true attitudes

free choice paradigm

A laboratory situation in which people make a choice between two alternatives, and after they do, attraction to the alternatives is assessed

self-esteem

A person's evaluation of his or her value or self-worth. The level of positive feeling one has about oneself.

fluid compensation

After a blow to self-esteem in one domain, people often shore up their overall sense of self-worth by bolstering how they think of themselves in an unrelated domain.

projection

Assigning to others those traits that people fear they possess themselves

bask in reflected glory

Associating oneself with successful others to help bolster one's own self-esteem

possible selves

Images of what the self might become in the future.

who came up with the cognitive dissonance theory?

Leon Festinger

self-handicapping

Placing obstacles in the way of one's own success to protect self-esteem from a possible future failure

self-verification

Seeking out other people and social situations that support the way one views oneself in order to sustain a consistent and clear self-concept

spotlight effect

The belief that others are more focused on us than they actually are.

self-complexity

The extent to which an individual's self-concept consists of many different aspects

flow

The feeling of being completely absorbed in an activity that is appropriately challenging to one's skills

sociometer model

The idea that a basic function of self-esteem is to indicate to the individual how much he or she is accepted by other people

self-evaluation maintenance model

The idea that people adjust their perceived similarity to successful others to minimize threatening comparisons and maximize self-esteem-supporting identifications

self-determination theory

The idea that people function best when they feel that their actions stem from their own desires rather than from external forces

cognitive dissonance theory

The idea that people have such distaste for perceiving inconsistencies in their beliefs, attitudes, and behavior that they will bias their own attitudes and beliefs to try to deny inconsistencies.

self-affirmation theory

The idea that people respond less defensively to threats to one aspect of themselves if they think about another valued aspect of themselves

anxiety-buffer

The idea that self-esteem allows people to face threats with their anxiety minimized.

theory of symbolic self-completion

The idea that when people perceive that a self-defining aspect is threatened, they feel incomplete, and then try to compensate by acquiring and displaying symbols that support their desired self-definition

Foreseeable Aversive Consequences

The more aversive the foreseeable consequences of an action are, the more important the inconsistent cognitions are, and thus, the more dissonance

effort justification

The phenomenon whereby people reduce dissonance by convincing themselves that what they suffered for is actually quite valuable

Mindfulness

The state of being and acting fully in the current moment.

over justification effect

The tendency for salient rewards or threats to lead people to attribute the reason, or justification, for engaging in an activity to an external factor, which thereby undermines their intrinsic motivation for and enjoyment of the activity

illusion of transparency

The tendency to overestimate another's ability to know our internal thoughts and feelings

dramaturgical perspective

Using the theater as a metaphor, the idea that people, like actors, perform according to a script. If we all know the script and play our parts well, then like a successful play, our social interactions flow smoothly and seem meaningful, and each actor benefits.

Factors That Affect the Magnitude of Dissonance:

Weak External Justification Choice Commitment Foreseeable Aversive Consequences

Which of the following describes a psychological state that an animal rights activist who also eats meat might experience?

cognitive dissonance

People have a number of self-motives, such as a desire to view themselves as ______ and to see themselves in a positive light

a coherent whole

Which of the following is one of the primary ways to reduce cognitive dissonance?

adding a third cognition

Which strategy reduces cognitive dissonance by adding a thought that makes the discrepancy seem smaller or disappear?

adding a third cognition

self-monitoring

an individual difference in people's desire and ability to adjust their self-presentations for different audiences.

If an individual tells a professor that they enjoy the professor's class, then they may actually start to believe this even if they do not like the class. What research method demonstrated this phenomenon?

induced compliance paradigm

projection, compensation, and the better than average effect provide support for the idea that people are generally motived to ____ and _____ their self-esteem

maintain, defend

Which of the following is NOT one of the primary ways to reduce cognitive dissonance?

making the inconsistency public

The better than average effect can be seen as a _____ our motivation to feel positive about our self

result of

Too much _____ can contribute to stress if the many facets of the self seem to be forced on the person and cause conflicting demands

self-complexity

People with low _____ tend to look to other people's feedback to understand who they are.

self-concept clarity

Individuals with negative self-views may not benefit from _____ because they do not surround themselves with positive people who could make them feel good

self-verification

Research by Brehm (1956) showed participants who are forced to choose between two attractive options will love their chosen object even more and focus on the flaws in the object they did not choose. This research is an example of which of the following?

spreading the alternitives

A strategy for reducing dissonance is finding a way to make the discrepancy seem smaller than it initially seemed. What was this strategy called in the text?

trivializing the cognitions

Which of the following strategies works to reduce dissonance by minimizing the cognitions that are in conflict?

trivializing the cognitions

Minimal Deterrence

use of the minimal level of external justification necessary to deter unwanted behavior

if a person were only offered a small amount of money to go against their values, then they would experience higher cognitive dissonance. Which of the factors that affect the magnitude of dissonance does this relate to?

weak internal justification

dissonance theory : "people come to believe in and to love the things they suffer for."

when people choose a course of action that involves unpleasant effort, suffering, and pain, they experience dissonance because of the costs of that choice

Dissonance will be high if...

you act in a way that is counter to your attitudes with only weak external justification to do so.