chapter 7

cognitive dissonance

feeling people experience, uncomfortably, when they have two thoughts conflict with one another

conditioned stimulus

stimulant that, through pairings with an unconditioned stimulant, comes to evoke a conditioned reflex

neutral stimulus

stimulus that initially evokes no response

dual attitudes

evaluations that are different regarding the same attitude object held by the same person

attitudes

evaluations that are global toward some object or issue

attitude polarization

finding that people's demeanors become more extreme as they reflect on them

effort justification

finding that when people suffer or make sacrifices, they convince themselves that it is worthwhile

cognitive dissonance theory

idea that inconsistencies produce discomfort, leading people to rationalize their behavior or change their demeanor

beliefs

ideas that are strong about something

social learning

knowledge in which people imitate behaviors if they have seen others rewarded for performing them

unconditioned response

naturally occuring reflex

operant conditioning

people are apt to repeat rewarded behaviors and not punished behaviors

conditioned response

reflex that, through repeated pairings, is evoked by a formerly unassociated stimulant

automatic attitudes

reflexes that are fast, evaluative, and "gut-level"

deliberate attitudes

reflexes that people think reflectively and carefully about

unconditioned stimulus

stimulant that naturally evokes a particular reflex

mere exposure effect

tendency for people to come to like things simply because they encounter them repeatedly

classical conditioning

type of learning when, through repeated pairings, a stimulus comes to evoke a specific response