Module 5: Compensatory Control READINGS

Question 1

compensatory control is a key human motivation and involves…

Answer 1

when perceptions of personal control people feel intense anxiety and uncomfortableness in living in a random world. In order to alleviate this feeling people turn to external systems for compensatory sources of control.

Question 2

personal control =

Answer 2

the belief that we can predict, affect and control events in the present and future.

Question 3

what are three routes of compensatory control?

Answer 3

(A) Pattern Perceptions 
     (illusionary) findings 
     patterns in a chaotic world.
(B) Faith in Institutions
(C) Faith in a controlling god

Question 4

Compensatory Control: Pattern Perceptions….

Answer 4

Low personal control leads to:

(A) increased need for order 
     and structure in their 
     everyday world.
(B) to see images in 
     meaningless static.
(C) to believe that random, 
     unconnected behaviours 
     bear a cause-effect 
     relationship from 
     developing superstitious 
     rituals to endorsing 
     conspiracy theories.

*pattern perception is the most
basic form of compensatory
control.

Question 5

Compensatory Control: In our Institutions (Government Defense)…

Answer 5

> under the umbrella of 
   "systems justification theory"
   in times of low personal 
   control, people turn to their 
   sociopolitical systems in 
   order to feel that events do 
   not occur randomly.
> increase in personal control 
   can lead to an increase in 
   criticism of ones 
   government.
> increase in personal control 
   can lead to a preference for 
   government control.
> relationship between faith in government and personal control is mediated by the extent to which people view their government as working for their best interests.

*only if the government is seen to be benevolent

Question 6

Compensatory Control: Belief in God

Answer 6

> low personal control
increased belief in a
controlling god.

Question 7

Mechanisms for Compensatory Control:

Answer 7

(A) Anxiety as a driving force:
     anxious participants with 
     low personal control (and 
     not high) showed an 
     increase in belief in a 
     controlling god.

     People who are low in 
     personal control that is 
     given an opportunity to 
     affirm their values no 
     longer show an increase in 
     compensatory beliefs.

     If anxiety is attributed to a 
     placebo pill rather than the 
     task which decreases 
     personal control then 
     compensatory control 
     effects are eliminated.

Question 8

Alternative accounts for compensatory control that are not correct:

Answer 8

(A) response to general threat
rather than low personal
control.

Question 9

NASA faked the Moon landing- therefore, (climate) science is a hoax: the motivated rejection of science

reading findings:

Answer 9

(A) Endorsement of free-market 
     economics predicted the 
     rejection of climate science 
     and other sciences.
(B) Endorsement of conspiracy 
     beliefs predicted rejection 
     of climate science and other 
     sciences.
(C) The internet has become a 
      platform for denial.
(D) Acceptance of science was 
     strongly associated with the 
     perception of consensus 
     among scientists.

Question 10

Rejection of science:

Answer 10

the dismissal of well established scientific results for reasons that are not scientifically grounded.

Question 11

Is scepticism and rejection of science the same thing?

Answer 11

No. Scepticism can trigger the revision of scientific claims based on scientific theory.

A healthy dose of scepticism can improve peoples ability to discriminate between truthful and false information.

Question 12

Conspiracy theory definition:

Answer 12

an attempt to explain a significant social or political event as a secret plot by powerful individuals or organizations.

> used to explain away 
   inconvenient scientific fact.
> people have a general 
   disposition which makes 
   them more likely to endorse 
   conspiracy theories.
> believing in one conspiracy 
   theory means you are likley 
   to believe in others.
> predicts a distrust for 
   science.

Question 13

Three ways to reduce the influence and spread od conspiracy theories:

Answer 13

(A) Hard to remove existing 
      beliefs because attempts to 
      debunk conspiracies can 
      inadvertently reinforce their 
      existence. Thus, 
      policymakers and scientists 
      should rebut multiple 
      conspiracies at the same 
      time.
(B) Address demand and not 
     supply.  Try to reduce the 
     number of people 
     developing conspiracy 
     views rather than changing 
     the beliefs of those who 
     already endorse conspiracy 
     theories.
(C) Debiasing techniques, 
     reaffirmation of a subset of 
     beliefs among consumers of 
     conspiracy beliefs.

Question 14

Religious Beliefs are Reflective Elaborations on Institutions: A modified dual-process model

Reading findings

Answer 14

(A) religious beliefs are best 
     understood in terms of a 
     dual process model, (1 = 
     intuitions, 2 = reflections).
(B) explains why beliefs are 
     diverse but very similar and 
     immune to refutation.

Question 15

Religious beliefs are…

Answer 15

>  not supported by or 
    motivated by science. 
> are a cross-cultural 
   phenomenon.
> are post hoc (after the fact) 
   deliberate reflections on our 
   intuitions that serve to 
   explain, justify or elaborate 
   on our inuitions.
> driving force is relevance not 
   truth.

Question 16

What triggers reflection on intuitions?

Answer 16

> gaps or conflict between 
   intuitive systems that leave 
   room for elaboration.
> misattributing psychological 
   and physiological 
   experiences with 
   supernatural forces.
> when existing beliefs conflict 
   with new personal 
   experience.

Question 17

Why are religious beliefs similar, but not special?

Answer 17

(A) triggered by inconsistencies in intuitive systems.
(B) speculations tend to go in the same direction.
(C) there is nothing special about religion because all elaborative post hoc beliefs serve the same function.

**the intuitive systems which trigger religious beliefs also trigger non-religious beliefs.

Question 18

what makes people more likely to adopt religious beliefs?

Answer 18

> mortality salience

> more intuitive people

Question 19

what are common themes in reflections?

Answer 19

(A) people do not have a stable interpretation of their belief, it’s flawed.
(B) religious beliefs are immune to debate.
(C) more intuitive people are more likely to form religious beliefs than non-religious elaborations.

Question 20

the difference between scientific theory and religious beliefs is…

Answer 20

qualitative

Question 21

perceptions of control occur in two ways:

Answer 21

(A) Affirming personal control over one’s own life.

(B) Enhancing one’s beliefs in external systems or agents who exert control over the world.

Question 22

Is science a form of CC

Answer 22

Yes. belief in science and societal progression can act as a form of compensatory control.

Question 23

if personal control decreases ___ will increase and if personal control increases __ will decrease.

Answer 23

compensatory control.

Question 24

Rutjen’s et al. (2013)

Answer 24

> decrease in personal control, increase in defence of human progress and science and willingness to invest in science.

*inertia effect- increase personal control by reading science article causes people to be less likely to engage in environmental behaviours because they already have a compensatory source of control.

Question 25

what are the faith signatures or taxonomies of religious beliefs?

Answer 25

1. religious exclusives (HL)
2. undifferentiated believers
   (HH)
3. new age spirituals (HHnot
   superstitions)
4. moderate agnostic (MM)
5. undifferentiated skeptics (LL)

Question 26

which faith signature is a less confident version of new-age spirituals and which is more secular?

Answer 26

moderate agnostic and undifferentiated skeptics.

Question 27

___ had the lowest levels of happiness, higher levels of anomie and trust?

*worse outcome

Answer 27

undifferentiated believers

**discrimination one’s beliefs are good for you.

Question 28

___ and __ were younger, less happy, less educated and higher in anomie.

Answer 28

undifferentiated skeptis and agnostics.