sop 3004 review exam 2

What are the four components that are necessary to experience cognitive dissonance? Why is each one necessary?

1) Behavior must produce negative consequences 2) Feeling of personal responsibility- negative consequences were foreseeable and freely chosen 3) Physiological arousal 4) Attribution of arousal to own behavior-Not to external cause

Describe Milgrams obedience studies.

1) How far would people go in the name of following authority? 2) Participants are instructed to deliver shocks to a 'learner' whenever the learner makes a mistake. 3) Shocks range from 15 volts to 450 volts; shocks increase with each mistake by the learner. 4) 75 volts Grunts 120 volts Shouts in pain 150 volts Refuses to continue the experiment 200 volts Complains about heart condition 300 volts Screams; refuses to answer 330+volts Silence 5) Experimenter's orders: "He's fine. Go on." "The experiment requires that you go on." "It is absolutely essential to go on." "You have no choice. You must go on." 6) What people predicted: Disobey at around 135 volts. Only 0.1% would deliver the maximum possible shock of 450 volts. 7) What really happened:

What pattern of responses lead to an external attribution?

• if high in consensus, high in distinctiveness, high in consistency, then attribution is external

What is the sleeper effect? How does it relate to persuasion?

•A delayed increase in the persuasive impact of a noncredible source. •Persuasion: Efforts to change others' attitudes.

What is the anchoring and adjustment heuristic? What does it mean to say that adjustment is often insufficient?

•A process in which people make an estimate of some value by starting from an initial value (an anchor) and adjusting. •People tend to adjust around the number that is provide to them or one that they are aware of therefore it is insufficient o Example: vodka never freezes when indeed it does.

How does attitude inoculation lead people to resist persuasion attempts? How does this relate to psychological reactant?

•Attitude inoculation: The idea that exposure to weak versions of an argument increases later resistance to that argument. •Being forewarned allows us to come up with refutations to the argument •They both produce a resistance against the argument or situation being introduce to them.

How can these heuristics and biases explain why people believe in the "myth of the hot hand?

•Availability heuristic -we tend to remember instances that support or beliefs •Confirmation bias - we seek out information that confirms our initial hypothesis • Belief perseverance -our own beliefs persist even when discredited •Representatives- a steak of made shots is representative of being on a "hot streak" not of chance.

What is the Elaboration Likelihood Model

•Basic assumption: People do not have the motivation or ability to evaluate all messages carefully •The amount and nature of the thinking that accompanies a persuasive message determines the type of persuasion that occurs

How is compliance different from persuasion and conformity?

•Behavior changes in response to a direct request. not by persuasion

How can they be used to determine whether people are relying on the peripheral or central route to persuasion?

•By seeing the differences in which people are paying attention in certain situation will be measured and those will describe whether they are on central or peripheral.

Can subliminal messages affect behavior?

•Can perceiving a message without our awareness (i.e., subliminally) affect our behavior? •Oh wait - none of it actually works. Subliminal messages have NO effect on behavior - but people perceive that their behavior changed. This only works if you believe it does which gives you a false effect placebo

How does the idea of sufficient vs insufficient justification relate to the theory of cognitive dissonance?

•Cognitive dissonance explains attitude change as a means to reduce arousal created by behaving contrary to our attitudes.

How does scarcity relate to social proof?

•People are more likely to comply with people they like. •Opportunities seem more valuable to us when they are less available

What is the difference between "consensus," "distinctiveness," and "consistency?" What does it mean to be high or low on these?

•Consensus: Do (or would) most people behave the same way in this situation? •Distinctiveness: Does this person behave this way in other situations as well? •Consistency: Does this person behave this way in all situations of this type? •If high in consensus, high in distinctiveness, high in consistency, then attribution is external o Your friend likes the movie because it is a good movie •If low in consensus, low in distinctiveness, high in consistency, then attribution is internal. o Your friend likes the movie because your friend is easy to please

Timing of the messages?

•Depends on time... if there is a pause after the second speech then it is better to go first. If there is no pause then it is better to go second

What is the door-in-the-face technique? How does the door-in-the-face technique relate to the principle of reciprocity?

•Door-in-the-face technique- Make a large request (and get turned down) ->Make a smaller request. People feel a need to return a concession •You feel need to help this person after turning them down you have a sense of guilt

What is the autokinetic effect?

•Estimate how far a point of light moved in a dark room (autokinetic effect - light did not move!)

Do frightening messages work at persuading people?

•Fear appraisals: Fear can create attitude change IF the audience is told how to avoid the danger o Example: smoking can kill you here is the number to call for help.

How do attributions relate to the over justification effect?

•Giving an extrinsic reward can change our attribution for our behavior. •Example: "I must be playing with markers because I received a reward, not because I like them"

What factors affect conformity? How do they affect conformity?

•Group size- Conformity increases until about 3-5 people, then levels off •Unanimity-1 dissenter dramatically reduces conformity •Group cohesion-The more important the group, the greater the conformity •The person- Culture- eastern culture tend to conform more. Self-monitoring-high self-monitors will conform Self-esteem- the higher the self-esteem the less likely you are to conform.

Discrepancy?

•How extreme a position should you take in order to maximize attitude change •Moderate discrepancy is best - too extreme a position will lead people to quickly reject and refute the arguments. o Example: westbro church and why it doesn't work

What are some implications of the over justification effect?

•I must be playing with markers because I received a reward not because I really like them. •This means that if you are giving a reward for something you don't know whether you like it because you like or because of the reward.

What pattern of responses lead to an internal attribution?

•If low in consensus, low in distinctiveness, high in consistency, then attribution is internal.

What is the halo effect?

•If one person has one positive characteristic we tend to think they have many more

How does it relate to Sherif's study of conformity? What did Sherif's study find?

•Individuals' estimates tended to converge. •Group norms influenced individual behavior •Sherif's study found that people tend to conform to the groups norms even if they know that the group is wrong.

What are the two reasons why people conform? Can these reasons explain why participants in Sherif's and Ash's experiments conformed?

•Informational influence: Influence that produces conformity when a person believes others are correct in their judgments. •Normative influence: Influence that produces conformity when a person fears the negative social consequences of appearing deviant. •Informational and normative influence can describe why the participants in both studies confirmed. They believed that if they confirmed they would look the same to their peers and so they went on knowing that was the wrong answer.

How does answering questions about consensus, distinctiveness, and consistency lead to an attribution?

•Internal attribution: disposition, attitude, personality, etc. •External attribution: situation, circumstance, aspect of the environment, etc.

What is the difference between an internal and an external attribution?

•Internal attribution: disposition, attitude, personality, etc. •External attribution: situation, circumstance, aspect of the environment, etc.

What are some reasons why we exhibit the Fundamental Attribution Error?

•Limited capacity processors- we can handle so much information •Behavior is more salient than the situation- we are not aware of the situation •People do not understand how situations affect behavior- even if we are aware of the situations we don't think how that affects us •People are mentally lazy- we don't want to think too much •Language is rich in dis positional trait terms- the language we have which is certain word for a certain thing. Culture affect us also we (u.s) tend to be more judgmental.

What are two techniques that increase compliance that are based on the principle of commitment and consistency?

•Low-balling: 1)Secure agreement with a request 2) Reveal hidden costs •Foot-in-the-door technique: 1)Get person to comply with a small request 2) Increase the request

How does the idea of mindlessness relate to persuasion?

•Mindlessness-Many decisions are made without careful thought. We are often be persuaded by unimportant variables. •Persuasion- efforts to change others' attitudes

How does the principle of commitment and consistency relate to cognitive dissonance?

•Once we make a commitment, we feel pressure to behave consistently. •Cognitive dissonance explains attitude change as a means to reduce arousal created by behaving contrary to our attitudes. •In both case we tend to avoid the negative behavior and keep the commitment in which we agreed to.

Why do we like things that are scarce?

•Opportunities seem more valuable to us when they are less available

How can social proof be manipulated to increase compliance?

•People are more likely to comply with people they like.

How does self-perception theory explain the results of cognitive dissonance experiments?

•People will infer their attitudes from observing their own behavior and the context in which that behavior occurs. •People who saw themselves lie for $20 attributed the lie to the money, not to their attitude •People who saw themselves lie for $1 attributed the lie to their attitude, not to the money (why would they lie for only $1?)

What are the three steps of a self-fulfilling prophecy?

•Perceived develops false belief about a target. •Perceive treats target in a manner consistent with false belief. •Target responds to the treatment in such a way as to confirm the originally false belief.

What is an illusory correlation?

•Perception of a relationship where none exists. We tend to see patterns were there is none. Example: myth of the hot hand.

What are the two routes of the ELM? What is the differences between the two routes?

•Peripheral route: Occurs when people rely on simple cues present in a situation. Billboards and tv ads o Example: source credibility- who says it Attractiveness- girls and beer ads to attract men Humor- hoe funny something is Length of the speech- how long the speech is •Central route: Occurs when people carefully think about information relevant to the persuasive message. Ads to buy a house o Example: argument Quality Logical coherence

What determines who we like?

•Physical attractiveness o Halo effect •Similarity •Familiarity o Mere exposure effect

What about messages that produce positive emotions?

•Positive emotions: Feeling good leads to a more positive outlook, which increases one's tendency to use the peripheral route to persuasion. o Example: People who watch commercials while eating are more easily persuaded than those who watch the commercials but don't eat.

How does this relate to psychological reactant?

•Psychological reactant - we want what we cannot have • Works for two reasons: 1) Scarcity implies social proof 2) We hate to lose an opportunity we once had

What are the six compliance principles we discussed in class? How can you use them to increase compliance?

•Reciprocity- "Treat others as they treat us" •Commitment & consistency- Once we make a commitment, we feel pressure to behave consistently •Social proof- We view a behavior as correct in a given situation to the degree that we see others performing it. •Liking- People are more likely to comply with people they like. •Scarcity- Opportunities seem more valuable to us when they are less available. •Authority- We tend to comply with authority figures

What are heuristics? Why do we use heuristics?

•Shortcuts that people use to make complex judgments. •We tend to not what to think too much •Only so much can be done at once

The central route?

•The audience •The source of the message •The message itself •Central route: The more involved the audience is, and the more relevant the information is to the audience, the more likely they are to use the central route. People high in NC enjoy thinking and analyzing; they tend to use the central route. Speakers who are perceived as knowledgeable and trustworthy are more persuasive. Political ads often use "the average American" to promote a candidate

What would lead someone to be persuaded along one route, but not the other? If you are trying to persuade someone, what sorts of cues would you use if your audience was primarily using the peripheral route?

•The audience •The source of the message •The message itself •Peripheral route: People low in NC do not enjoy thinking and analyzing; they tend to use the peripheral route. Commercials tend to use physically attractive celebrities to endorse products

Does it exist more in individualist cultures or collectivist cultures?

•The graphs from class show that this occurs more in individualist cultures

What characteristics of the audience lead people to be persuaded along one route or the other? What characteristics of the source lead people to be persuaded along one route or the other?

•The more involved the audience is, and the more relevant the information is to the audience, the more likely they are to use the central route. •The extent to which people enjoy effortful cognitive activities. •People high in NC enjoy thinking and analyzing; they tend to use the central route. •People low in NC do not enjoy thinking and analyzing; they tend to use the peripheral route. •The audience •The source of the message •The message itself

What did the "Johnny Rocco" experiment demonstrate?

•The more one can conform to the group norm the more they are liked especially if persuaded to think like the majority of the group.

What is the mere exposure effect?

•The more you are exposed to something the more we tend to like them

How did Asch's conformity study extend the findings of Sherif's study? Be able to describe the Ash conformity study. What were the results of this study?

•The same way that Sherif's study showed how people will conform to the group norms Asch's study was able to prove that also. •Asch study was a very simple one the brought in one subject in a room full of "participants" they were asked to tell which line was longer the "participants" purposely gave the wrong answer. The subject was then asked the same question the subjects conformed 37% of the time.

What is the Fundamental Attribution Error?

•The tendency for observers to underestimate the situation influences and overestimate dis positional influences on people's behavior.

What is the representatives heuristic?

•The tendency to assume that someone or something belongs to a particular group if resembling a typical member. •We assume something is more likely to happen or that a certain person belongs to a certain group. •Often leads to ignoring base-rates

What is the actor-observer effect?

•The tendency to attribute our own behavior to situation causes and the behavior of others to personal causes. o Example: If you trip, it is because you are clumsy. If I trip, it is because something got in my way

What is the availability heuristic? How does the availability heuristic relate to false consensus? How does it relate to the base-rate fallacy?

•The tendency to estimate the likelihood that an event will occur by how easily instances of it come to mind. o Actual frequencies (it is often accurate!) o Salience (e.g., the media) o Regency (recent events are over-represent) o Attention (our interests direct our attention) •The availability heuristic is the tendency that we have to overestimate the likelihood of something happening. Example: full moon and something weird occurring. The base-rate fallacy is the tendency to not realize the actual numeral fact of something occurring. Example: the plane you on will actually crash.

What is belief perseverance? Why does belief perseverance occur?

•The tendency to maintain beliefs, even after they have been discredited. •A person wants to believe that their beliefs are true even if that belief has been proven to be false.

What is the confirmation bias?

•The tendency to search for information that confirms one's preconceptions.

What are attribution theories?

•Theories that describe how people explain the causes of others' behavior.

How does punishment relate to cognitive dissonance?

•They both produces a negative feeling within the person one being from an outside source (punishment) and one being from within (yourself) because of the wrong doing that has occurred.

How do these graphs relate to the ELM?

•This graphs represent the two routes of the ELM the peripheral and the central route.

When does social proof work?

•Uncertainty - When people are unsure of how to act, they look to others. •Similarity - The more similar others are to you, the more likely you are to look to them to determine what to do.

From a cognitive dissonance perspective, why do difficult decisions seem like obvious ones after the decision is made?

•We tend to think something is the best choice after being made because we trick ourselves into thinking we like it better. Once people make a tough decision (between two equally-appealing options), they tend to convince themselves that they made the best decision.

From a cognitive dissonance perspective, why do we come to like what we suffer for?

•We trick ourselves into thinking we like something because we had to work harder to get it. We don't want to believe that we suffered through something with no reward to show for it. o Example: hazing rituals

How does social proof relate to conformity?

•We view a behavior as correct in a given situation to the degree that we see others performing it. •Conformity: a change in beliefs of behaviors as a result of real or imagined group pressure

What are the basic differences between cognitive dissonance theory and self-perception theory?

•When discrepancy between behavior and attitude is large, people feel cognitive dissonance •When discrepancy between behavior and attitude is small, people infer their behavior through self-perception

One-sidedness vs two-sidedness?

•When trying to persuade, is it better to acknowledge opposing viewpoints? •One-sided is better if: Audience already agrees •Audience is not aware of opposing views •If either of these situations do not hold, two-sided arguments are better.

What is Kelley's attribution theory?

•Your friend raves about a movie. Why? Consensus: Do (or would) most people behave the same way in this situation? •Do other people like the movie? •Distinctiveness: Does this person behave this way in other situations as well? •Does your friend like every movie or just this one? •Consistency: Does this person behave this way in all situations of this type? •Does your friend always rave about this movie?

How can the latter explain why we prefer our mirror image over our actual image?

•we tend to like we see in the mirror more than that we see in pictures because one is the reflected image which means the opposite over that of a picture which is our true self