24 Festinger and Carlsmith

Question 1

Thoughts Out of Tune Year

Answer 1

1959

Question 2

Thoughts Out of Tune Author

Answer 2

Festinger and Carlsmith

Question 3

Thoughts Out of Tune Background/Theory (4 things)

Answer 3

(1) Stimulus-response learning theories suggest that a person’s attitude is more likely to change if they receive a big reward than a small reward.
(2) However, researchers assigned participants to give speeches that support the opposite view of the participant, and found that the views of the participant actually changed to correspond to the speech if they were given SMALL compensation but not so much if they were given LARGE compensation.
(3) Festinger proposed cognitive dissonance - when you simultaneously hold two cognitions that are inconsistent, it creates discomfort and motivates you to change something to reducs the stress by explaining it away.
(4) if you believe “X” but publicly state “not X” you will experience the discomfort of cognitive dissonance. However, if you know that the reason for your statement of “non X” was justified by pressures, rewards, or threats, then your dissonance will be reduced or eliminated.

Question 4

Thoughts Out of Tune Method/Results (3 things)

Answer 4

(1) participants were made to do very boring and repetitive tasks (filling a tray with spools of thread and turning a peg a quarter turn over and over) designed to cause negative opinions of the tasks.
(2) participants were randomly assigned to three conditions: immediate interview about the tasks, one group was paid 1$ to lie about liking the tasks to a 3rd party, the final group was paid 20$ to lie about liking the tasks.
(3) The participants who were paid $1 for lying about the tasks later reported liking the tasks more than those who were paid 20$ and those who did not lie.

Question 5

Thoughts Out of Tune Significance (2 things)

Answer 5

(1) If a person is induced to do or say something that is contrary to his private opinion, there will be a tendency for him to change his opinion to bring it into correspondence with what he has said or done.
(2) The larger the pressure used to elicit the overt behavior, the weaker will be the above-mentioned tendency.

Question 6

Thourghts Out of Tune Legacy (3 things)

Answer 6

(1) Research: students who hear speeches contrary to their views from students from their same school (in-group) are more likely to change their views than when they hear speeches from students from a different school (out-group).
(2) Research: studies find that smokers hold views like: “Smoking is dangerous to people’s health but not to me because I don’t smoke very much” or “the way I smoke cigarettes protects me.”
(3) Research: Sexually active students were asked to make videotapes about how condom use can reduce the risk of HIV. After making the tapes, half of the students were divided into groups and encouraged to discuss why students resist using condoms and to reveal their own experiences of not using condoms. The other half did no follow up discussions. All were given the opportunity to buy condoms - the first group bought more than the video-only group.