Ch. 6 Quiz

Which of the following statements about culture and cognitive dissonance is true? A) Dissonance occurs everywhere, but culture influences how people experience it. B)Cognitive dissonance is a uniquely American phenomenon. C) Japanese people rarely experience dissonance. D) Cognitive dissonance is more likely to occur in collectivist rather than individualist cultures.

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

You are reading a blog by someone whose point of view is really making you angry. Which of her arguments are you most likely to focus on and remember? A) Her silliest claims, because they are consonant with your opinion that she is a silly person. B) Her smartest claims, so that you can contradict them in a post. C) Her smartest claims, because they are so unlikely to have come from a silly person. D) Her silliest claims, because she is a silly person.

A) Her silliest claims, because they are consonant with your opinion that she is a silly person.

Which of the following is most true about narcissism? A) It is characterized by excessive self-love and a lack of empathy toward others. B) People who are narcissistic do better academically than those who are not. C) People who are narcissistic have more friends and a better social life than those who are not. D) In general, college students are becoming less narcissistic.

A) It is characterized by excessive self-love and a lack of empathy toward others.

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?

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

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:

Amanda will feel more honest than Jake will.

Kristin is one of the few women in her computer science class and gets a poor grade on the first test. According to self-affirmation theory, which of the following would help her do better in the class? A) Joining a study group of other students in the class B) Doing a values-affirmation writing exercise C) Getting tutoring in the class D) Getting study tips from the professor

B) Doing a values-affirmation writing exercise

Which of the following is most true about self-esteem? A) It's good to have low self-esteem because that motivates people to improve. B) People who are optimistic try harder, persevere more in the face of failure, and set higher goals than do people who are not. C) The higher a person's self-esteem, the better off he or she is. D) In general, women have lower self-esteem than men.

B) People who are optimistic try harder, persevere more in the face of failure, and set higher goals than do people who are not.

Rachel and Eleanor are best friends and also in the high school choir. Both of them consider themselves to be talented singers and singing is very important to them. They both try out for an important solo in the choir, which Eleanor wins. Which of the following is Rachel least likely to do, according to self-evaluation maintenance theory? A) Rachel will practice even harder for the next solo in order to do better than Eleanor. B) Rachel will be very happy for Eleanor and tell all their friends about her success in winning the solo. C) Rachel will decide that singing isn't as important to her as she thought. D) Rachel will feel less close to Eleanor as a friend.

B) Rachel will be very happy for Eleanor and tell all their friends about her success in winning the solo.

You know you're eating too much junk food and that it's bad for your energy and health. Which of the following will not reduce your dissonance? A) Deciding that all those health warnings are stupid exaggerations. B) Admitting you are eating too many sweets but claim that they boost your energy for studying. C) Accepting the fact that your attitudes and behavior simply conflict. D) Cutting out your favorite afternoon sweets.

C) Accepting the fact that your attitudes and behavior simply conflict.

Which of the following is true about self-esteem and narcissism? A) The best way to be happy is to focus on ourselves and our own needs. B) Narcissism has been decreasing among college students in the United States over the past 30 years. C) People who are optimistic (but not narcissistic) persevere more in the face of failure and set higher goals than do other people. D) Narcissists are disliked by others but do better academically and in business than other people.

C) People who are optimistic (but not narcissistic) persevere more in the face of failure and set higher goals than do other people.

Which of the following people is most likely to be able to admit a major mistake? A) A prosecutor, because he or she is trained to pursue justice at all costs. B) A political leader, because otherwise he or she would be voted out of office. C) A member of a religious sect, because he or she can leave at any time. D) All of the above will find it hard to admit having been wrong.

D) All of the above will find it hard to admit having been wrong.

Which of the following techniques relating to post-decision dissonance could a clothing store use to increase customer satisfaction? A) Ask customers to make a radio ad saying how great the store is. B) Charge a membership fee to shop at the store. C) Cut all prices in half. D) Make all sales final.

D) Make all sales final. Explanation: When a decision is permanent, people often justify their choice rather than deal with the dissonance of having made a poor decision, resulting in increased satisfaction with the choice they made whether it was right or wrong.

Rachel was accepted at both University A and University B. She has a hard time making up her mind because she sees pros and cons to attending either university. Which of the following is true, according to dissonance theory? A) Whichever university she chooses, she is likely to regret her choice. B) She will experience the most dissonance right before making up her mind because it is such a difficult choice. C) Because the choice is so difficult, she is unlikely to fully commit herself to the university she chooses to attend. D) She will experience the most dissonance right after making up her mind.

D) She will experience the most dissonance right after making up her mind.

Suppose that you and your best friend are both psychology majors and both want to go to grad school in psychology. Your friend is also a talented athlete, whereas athletics is not that important to you. One day you find out that your friend won an intramural free throw shooting contest. Which of the following is MOST likely to happen, according to self-evaluation maintenance theory? A) You will become less close to your friend. B) You will decide that you are not that interested in psychology. C) You will study really hard for the next psychology test in order to do better than your friend D) You will bask in your friend's reflected glory and congratulate him or her on winning the free throw contest.

D) You will bask in your friend's reflected glory and congratulate him or her on winning the free throw contest.

Imagine that you and your sister are both psychology majors and that you are very close to your sister. Suppose you learn that your sister's GPA in psychology classes is a lot higher than yours. According to self-evaluation maintenance theory, which of the following is LEAST likely to occur? A) You will study really hard for the next psychology test in order to do better than your sister. B) You will decide that you are not that interested in psychology. C) You will become less close to your sister. D) You will bask in your sister's reflected glory and congratulate her on her high GPA.

D) You will bask in your sister's reflected glory and congratulate her on her high GPA.

Suppose Harold is in a long-term, romantic relationship but chooses to flirt with someone else. He experiences dissonance because he sees himself as loving and trustworthy, and his flirtatious behavior is incongruent with that self-perception. According to research on self-affirmation theory, how could Harold reduce his dissonance?

He could say, "Hey, at least I'm doing good work volunteering at the homeless shelter" (assuming that being a good volunteer is important to him).

In terms of dissonance theory, what is the primary reason that "we" (our side) often dehumanizes "them," the enemy, seeing them as animals, brutes, or monsters?

Our side has treated the enemy brutally and needs to justify these actions.

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

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.

When does "saying become believing"?

When you claim to have an opinion that differs from your true beliefs for no strong reason.

Suppose Juan is in a long-term, romantic relationship but chooses to flirt with someone else. He experiences dissonance because he sees himself as loving and trustworthy, and his flirtatious behavior is incongruent with that self-perception. According to dissonance theory he could reduce his dissonance by ____________, whereas according to self-affirmation theory he could reduce his dissonance by __________.

convincing himself that the flirting was harmless; thinking about how proud he is to be a pre-med student

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

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 Explanation: There was no real external reason to lie about the shoes, so you would search for internal justifications to explain your behavior.

What is the "hypocrisy paradigm" in experimental research?

making participants aware of their own hypocrisy in not practicing what they preach

The basic tenet of terror management theory is that

self-esteem protects people against thoughts about their own mortality.

Your best friend has joined a cult called "The Fellowship of Feeling." He had to spend a month in a set of increasingly severe hazing rituals; pay an $8,000 membership fee; and go along to watch older members find homeless people to harass and beat up. Your friend loves this group and keeps urging you to join. What principle of dissonance is likely operating on your friend?

the justification of effort

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

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

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

you lend Tony $10. Explanation: People are more likely to like you if they voluntarily do you a favor, because they have to use internal justifications to explain their helpful behavior.