Ch. 3 - Self Justification Flashcards
Self-Justification
The tendency to justify one’s actions in order to maintain one’s self-esteem.
Cognitive Dissonance
A state of tension occurring when an individual simultaneously holds two conditions (ideas, attitudes, beliefs, opinions) that are psychologically inconsistent.
Ex). A student choosing to cheat or not cheat on an exam.
Irrevocability
A person’s inability to undo an action.
Lowballing
A deceitful strategy when a salesperson has a cutsomer to agree to purchase a product at a very low cost, and then increasing the price; often, the customer will agree to make the purchase at the inflated price anyway, which they often do.
Ex). 2 groups were asked to participate in a study; one group was asked to do a survey at 7 am and the other group was just asked to participate in a survey (no info about time was given). At the last minute, the latter group was told that the survey would be at 7 am. At this, most of the participants in the second group attended the survey than the first group.
Entrapment
How people can start off making a small, impulsive decision, and over time, find themselves a long way from their original goals and intentions.
Foot-in-the-Door Technique
The strategy of asking for a small initial request to which one is likely to agree, followed by asking for a larger request.
External Justification
A person’s justification for his or her dissonant behavior that is situation determined (such as a reward or punishment)
Ex). The $20 condition for telling a lie: Much like the college students who lied in Festinger and Carlsmith’s $20 condition, those children who cheated for a substantial reward would have less need to reduce dissonance (less need to justify their actions, less inclined to cheat again) having been provided with an abundance of external justification for their behavior (the $20)
Internal Justification
The reduction of dissonance by changing something about oneself in the direction of one’s statements (such as one’s attitude or behavior)
Ex). In the $1 example, it was sufficient to induce the people to lie, but it wasn’t enough to prevent them from feeling foolish. Therefore, in order to diminish their feelings of foolishness, they had to diminish the dissonance by almost rationalizing/compensating through agreeing to tell a lie for so little a sum.
Justification of Effort
The tendency for individuals to increase their liking for something they have worked hard to attain.
Dehumanization
Process of seeing citims as nonhumans, which lowers inhibitions against aggressive actionsand makes continued aggression easier and more likely.
