the need to justify our actions

Question 1

what does the need to justify our actions have a lot to do with

Answer 1

cognitive dissonance

-feeling of inconsistency in self

Question 2

what is cognitive dissonance

Answer 2

feeling of discomfort caused by performing an action that is inconsistent with one’s attitudes (or having two conflicting attitudes)

• cause anxiety, tension
• discomfort can cause one to get rid of what is making them uncomfortable immediately (ex. either changing behavior or justifying action)

Question 3

what was Dr. Browns example of cognitive dissonance

Answer 3

she is a vegetarian but was not when she started dating her husband (he was one), both of them love animals, he said I do not eat meat because I love animals, this caused Brown dissonance “I love animals but i still eat them”

• this discomfort caused her motivation to change behaviors
• now has dissonance for eating dairy because unsure if the animals are happy they extract dairy from (could eventually motivate her to become vegan)

Question 4

is discomfort the same among everyone

Answer 4

no, can cause different behaviors in different people

Question 5

what are some of the different kinds of dissonance

Answer 5

• regret over past action

- two different attitudes

Question 6

explain the study that demonstrates that behavior can affect attitudes rather than the opposite

Answer 6

wanted participants to say something they did not believe, participants did a task in lab and had to lie about it, the task was extremely boring (one hour motor task of making small movements of pegs on a board), everyone hated it

control: proceed to dependent measure
2 conditions: participants had to lie, tell next participant that task was really fun (a confederate)
1) received $1 for telling lie
2) received $20 for telling lie

all participants then asked how much they enjoyed the task, how much participants were paid influenced their responses, the experience of the lie is what is uncomfortable to do, can they justify the lie?

results: participants in the $1 condition said they enjoyed the task the $20 and control conditions did not, also said they thought the experiment was scientifically important and that they would want to participate in a similar study

Question 7

what did the results of the study that demonstrates that behavior can affect attitudes rather than the opposite show us and how it relates to insufficient justification

Answer 7

• if people lie when they were compensated $20 they had a good reason to lie
• when someone is paid $1 they lied for nothing (insufficient justification)
• *this is uncomfortable, so to try and get rid of discomfort they change their attitudes, “this task was not that bad” (no longer a lie, no longer uncomfortable)**

Question 8

what are the 4 forms of cognitive dissonance

Answer 8

insufficient justification
effort justification
postdecision dissonance
and hypocrisy

Question 9

what is the cognitive dissonance theory

Answer 9

theory that experiencing the aversive state of dissonance (caused by inconsistencies) leads to efforts to restore consistency

Question 10

what does the cognitive dissonance theory tell us that we do when we experience cognitive dissonance

Answer 10

1) change behavior, if not willing to change behavior:

2) change attitude
3) affirm the self in another way ex. drinking milk, cows could be harmed but I am a good person in X, Y, and Z

Question 11

explain the study that emphasized hypocrisy to induce feeling of dissonance and how it relates to affirming self in another way

Answer 11

write why it is important to do good behaviors in school (go to class, study, etc.)

manipulation:

1) make them feel hypocritical (write a time you did not do these things)
2) make them feel hypocritical (write a time you did not do these things) and then had them write about another value that is important to them
3) neutral, did not make them feel hypocritical
- pre and post measure of the importance of these behaviors

results: hypocritical group said the behavior is not important, neutral and hypocritical group affirming different value said the behavior is important

Question 12

so what is insufficient justification

Answer 12

when someone does not have enough justification for an action they did

Question 13

what is effort justification and an example

Answer 13

person puts a lot of effort into something that turns out to be not worth it (this is dissonance) so they convince themselves it is worth it

high effort -> not worth it (regret) -> dissonance -> justify effort was worth it

ex. go to med school and hate being a doctor, they will justify effort: no boss, making a difference
* *it is uncomfortable to look back and feel regret so convince ourselves it was worth it**

Question 14

explain the Initiation Rules study and how it relates to effort justification

Answer 14

participants have to do a difficult task and something bad happens
-women on campus who wanted to be a part of a movement for women rights (join discussion group, but it is actually a study)
prescreening conditions:
1) control: easy screening, demographics (no embarrassment)
2) mild: read uncomfortable words out loud to male experimenter (ex. prostitute, virgin)
3) extreme: read obscene words to experimenter

-all participants then listen to sample tape of discussion group, discussion was horribly boring -> talking about reproduction in animals
dependent variable: expressed liking for discussion group and members, and their desire to join

results: those in the extreme group said they liked the group more and would be more likely to join it

Question 15

what is a real life example of effort justification

Answer 15

sororities and frats go through hazing, more severe hazing leads people to like the group more

Question 16

what is postdecision dissonance and an example

Answer 16

after we make a decision between two choices we feel uncomfortable if we think it was the wrong one

2 choices -> make a decision -> immediately after, convince self it was the best choice

ex. Brown and husband choosing between two townhouses to rent, difficult decision between two places, praised choice they eventually made and belittled the other option when they made the decision

Question 17

what is the study with photos that shows postdecision dissonance

Answer 17

participants made choice between 2 desirable things, take photos with camera and pick 2 favorites, then pick one and got to take picture home
manipulation:
1) permanent: made choice and that was it
2) revocable: if after one week they can change mind and take other photo

2 weeks after: how happy are you with the photo you took

results: permanent liked decision more than the group who had the option to take it back
- permanent decisions = convincing process occurs
- irrevocability (permanence) strengthens dissonance

Question 18

example of another study with horse bets that show postdecision dissonance

Answer 18

asked people at horse race the confidence in their bet

1) waiting in line
2) just made bet (had more confidence in bet)

Question 19

what is hypocrisy and an example

Answer 19

when we say one thing but do another, behavior does not match attitude ex. “I support the environment but use Styrofoam”

Question 20

what is the swimmer example of hypocrisy

Answer 20

saving water study, asked swimmer to sign support movement to save water after practice, those who signed took shorter showers than those who didnt sign

people will change behavior right away if they can, but if they cant then they change their attitude

Question 21

what is the self perception theory and is right

Answer 21

people look at thier own behavior to determine their attitudes, make a logical inference, do something that seems hypocritical but logically change attitude to say this is how i really feel

this is another theory for why dissonance happens, previously talked about how discomfort causes changes, but this theory talks about how it is a rational conclusion (if i do these things maybe i do not actually feel this way), it is wrong

Question 22

why is it hypothesized that self perception theory happens

Answer 22

when we feel psychologically uncomfortable we also feel physiologically uncomfortable
-aversive state characterized by arousal, misattribution of arousal and dissonance reduction

Question 23

what is the purpose of the study that shows why self perception theory is wrong

Answer 23

gave participants a chance to attribute their feeling of dissonance to something else (what you're feeling isn't because you are hypocritical, but because of something else)
feeling dissonance (inconsistency) ------ misattribution ------> do they change attitudes?

will they use misattribution and still change their attitudes (this would show that self-perception theory is right, discomfort is not causing attitude change)

Question 24

what are the method and results of the study that shows why self perception theory is wrong

Answer 24

Misattribution Paradigm
step 1: 
1) pill expectations: placebo pill led participants to believe it could cause jitteriness (increase arousal), psychological arousal leads to physiological arousal, could blame any discomfort on that
2) pill has no side effects
3) pill will relax you

step 2: have participants write essay supporting something that is the opposite of what they feel

1) you have to write this essay for study (this should lead to dissonance, people change attitude to match what they wrote about)
2) we need more essays on the other side, will you please write the essay on the other side even though you disagree (did not change attitude because had justification for why they did what they did)

results: low attitude change for both arousal pill groups- what evokes dissonance disappears when we can blame it on something else
higher attitude change for choice essay condition than no choice condition (dissonance) in no pill side effect condition
higher attitude change for choice essay condition than no choice condition for relaxation pill side effects (believed that because participants thought they were supposed to be relaxed they experienced higher feelings of dissonance when they were aroused)

Question 25

what does the study that shows why self perception theory is wrong show us

Answer 25

if it was just logical conclusion, it would not matter if we were able to attribute feelings to something else (shows that dissonance and discomfort is correct)

Question 26

what do self-affirming studies do in regards to self perception theory

Answer 26

(affirming values decrease attitude change)

• this also eliminates dissonance
• shows that people change attitudes because of discomfort, not a logical process it is an emotional one

self-affirmation eliminates post-dissonance attitude and behavior change

Question 27

what is the balance theory and Dr. Browns example

Answer 27

people are motivated to have balance in their attitudes and associated elements

(show triangle diagram)
Brown loves husband and book, if husband doesnt love the book this eliminates balance and she would have to change attitudes to balance everything out (either lose respect for husband or like book less

Question 28

what is a real life example of balance theory

Answer 28

friend dates someone you dont like

• can either find redeeming qualities in significant other
• or you lose respect for friend

you can also try to get friend to dump significant other or distract self from imbalance

Question 29

show the examples of the triangle balance theory (between you and two elements) and what is / is not balanced

Answer 29

on paper

Question 30

what is a real life quote that shows balance theory and show it in the triangle balance diagram

Answer 30

the enemy of my enemy is my friend