Quiz 6 Flashcards
________ refers to the dissonance aroused after we have chosen between two or more alternatives
Postdecision dissonance
A mother is trying to get her child to behave in the store and to stop running around, yelling, and grabbing things off the shelves. According to cognitive dissonance theory, if she wants to stop the child’s behavior immediately for the time being, she should use a ________, but if she wants to more permanently change the behavior she should use a ________.
large punishment; small punishment
A person who supports gay marriage listens to a televised debate between two politicians on either side of the issue. According to dissonance theory, this person is likely to remember:
a. the most plausible arguments in favor of gay marriage and the most implausible arguments against it.
b. the best arguments on each side of the issue, regardless of who presented them.
c. only the arguments presented by the person who was for gay marriage.
d. only the arguments presented by the person who was against gay marriage.
a. the most plausible arguments in favor of gay marriage and the most implausible arguments against it.
A tobacco grower says, “I’m not the only one growing it. If I stop, someone else will be there.” Assuming that the man was experiencing dissonance from the fact that he was making his living from a crop that is bad for people’s health, he appears to be reducing this dissonance by
adding new cognitions.
According to results of dissonance studies, who is more likely to believe that lying is truly a heinous, unconscionable, and unforgivable act?
a. Mark, who was tempted to lie, but told the truth instead
b. Dan, who has always told the truth
c. Bill, who lies quite often
d. Julius, who knew he should tell the truth, but lied instead
a. Mark, who was tempted to lie, but told the truth instead
Aronson and Mills (1959) performed an experiment in which college women were invited to join a discussion group about sex. In order to join the group, participants had to undergo either a severe initiation, a mild initiation, or no initiation. Which of the following best describes this study’s findings? Women who underwent ________ initiation enjoyed the discussion the ________.
a severe; most
As mentioned in the text, a Yale researcher (Cohen, 1962) paid some students relatively little and others relatively more to write an essay that contradicted their true beliefs about the local police. Results of his experiment demonstrated that:
a. the greater the external justification, the greater the shift in participants’ attitudes toward the police.
b. students who were paid little were more willing to ride along with the police.
c. the size of the incentive changed students’ attitudes only if they privately liked the police.
d. in the absence of large incentives, students changed their attitudes about the police.
d. in the absence of large incentives, students changed their attitudes about the police.
Dissonance theory helps us understand the apparently irrational behavior of cult members, such as those in the Heaven’s Gate cult and at Jonestown who committed mass suicide. All of the following except ________ tend to increase dissonance and hence the extreme dissonance-reducing commitment to the cult or cause and the beliefs of the leaders.
a. the amount of hard work that is done on behalf of the cult
b. the negative self-concepts of many people who join cults
c. the sacrifice of money and possessions
d. giving up other friends and relationships outside the cult
b. the negative self-concepts of many people who join cults
Jay just found out that he was not accepted into his dream college. Based on information from the authors of your text about impact bias, which of the following best reflects how Jay will react?
He will get over it rather quickly.
Lisa is a car salesperson. She has just gotten you to agree to a deal on a new car and to write out a check for the down payment. She takes this to her manager and comes back a while later saying that, because of taxes and fees, the price of the car will actually come out to $600 over what you agreed upon. According to the research on lowballing, which of the following is most likely to occur?
a. You would decide to buy the car anyway because you realize the decision is reversible.
b. You would decide to buy the car anyway because there is an illusion of irrevocability (i.e., you don’t feel that you can reverse your decision).
Correct
c. You would not buy the car because salespeople are generally ineffective at persuading buyers to do what they want.
d. You would decide to buy the car only if you are not excited by the anticipation of the event.
b. You would decide to buy the car anyway because there is an illusion of irrevocability (i.e., you don’t feel that you can reverse your decision)
