The Psychological Immune System

Question 1

Most people are happy and resilient most of the time

Answer 1

• Sports fans predict they will be devastated if a rival wins an upcoming game. They’re not
• Lovers predict that they will be depressed for months if their partner breaks up. They’re not
• Professors predict that they will be misterable for years if they are denied tenure. They’re not.

Question 2

Why aren’t these people devastated, depressed for months, miserable they’re denied for tenure?
It’s NOT that people are indifferent to these events. Quite opposite

Answer 2

Psychological immune system

Question 3

Psychological immune system:

Answer 3

• the set of thought processes people use to protect our own wellbeing
• We fail to notice/ anticipate the benefits of the psychological immune system (this happens for biological immune system too)

Question 4

Reasons, and the causes of reasons

Answer 4

Reason:
1.) a rational ground or motive
2.) statement offered in explanation or justification

Question 5

When does the psychological immune system swing into action? (Sedikides &Alicke)

Answer 5

• self-centrality breeds self-enhancement
• when one’s self-esteem is threatened
• self-esteem is our feeling that we are a good person, and a good member of our groups

Question 6

Robust and generalizable

Answer 6

Sedikides spends a lot of time arguing that these self-protective motives are widespread (the article also spends a lot of time defending against arguments that the effects are non-motivational)

Question 7

Self- serving attribution bias

Answer 7

People tend to attribute their failures to external factors but attribute successes to their internal factors (task difficulty, harsh evaluators, bad luck, vs. discipline, effort, ability)= result= good (take credit) or bad (blame others)

Question 8

Better than average effect

Answer 8

The average person believes they are better than average on attributes that are important to them
- not all attributes (e.e.g, juggling)
- undesirable (incompetent, dishonest, rude)
- effect (intelligent, attractive, reliable)

Question 9

Examples of better than average effect

Answer 9

• earliest (accidental) discovery of the effect: most drivers think they are better drivers than average
• most professors think they are better professors than the average professor
• even felons think they are more moral and trustworthy than the average person

Question 10

Selective self-memory

Answer 10

People tend to have poor memory for their faults compared to their virtues, a pattern that reverses in memory for to others
ex.) You’re a terrible person, how do you live with yourself?- Selective Memory

Question 11

According to the Michigan Omnibus Personality Inventory, you are someone who would do the following behaviors

Answer 11

Borrow other people’s belongings without their knowledge
Lie to their parents

Question 12

How not to remember

Answer 12

Participants rated their happiness/enjoyments on trips
This is gonna be amazing-> This is okay-> That was amazing

Question 13

Socially desirable responding

Answer 13

• Responding in a socially desirable manner validates and bolsters self-esteem
  Often seen as just for faking or a measurement problem in surveys. Also happens in conversation. ect.
• But why do people do it? It works?: self-affirmation
• If a chicken says please answer true or false if I was a chicken I would gladly suffer and die to become a nugget to a human, the human would answer false

Question 14

Overclaiming

Answer 14

• exaggerating how much you know (especially about topics central to self
• also happens for credit in joint work
• “I knew it”

Question 15

5 examples of unlimited wats people can self-enhance

Answer 15

self-serving attributes, better than average judgements, selective memory, socially desirable responding, overclaiming

Question 16

I feel like I would definitely notice the change

Answer 16

• some things you can’t see “from the inside”
  (falling asleep, inattentional blindness)
• rationalizations of the psychological immune system
• Gilbert argues that it’s impossible to be aware that you are rationalizing (otherwise it wouldn’t work_
• som evidence suggests we can be aware, but that we rationalize the rationalizations ( a source of insight rather than self deception)

Question 17

Th cognititive response principle

Answer 17

People do not change their beliefs in response to new information/arguments. They generate their own thoughts (cognitive responses) in response to new information and then listen to themselves
- We should increase fees by 5% to fund an expansion for student healthcare because studies show it wold improve student wellbeing by 40%
We should increase student fees by 5% to fund an expansion for student healthcare because my friend Cheryl thinks it would be good

Question 18

GRQ: Why are rationalizations tied to happiness?

Answer 18

• Rationalizations are tied to happiness psychology because they are mechanisms people use to reconcile cognitive dissonance and maintain emotional well-being
• Rationalizations help individuals reduce the discomfort associated with cognitive dissonance. By providing acceptable reasons for their actions or beliefs, people can avoid feeling guilty, anxious, or unhappy about inconsistencies.
• Rationalizations often protect self-esteem by allowing individuals to perceive their actions or choices as justified, even if they conflict with their moral or ethical standards. This self-protection helps maintain a positive self-image, which is closely linked to overall happiness.
• Rationalizations can act as a buffer against negative emotions such as regret, shame, or disappointment. By offering explanations that make actions seem acceptable, individuals can maintain a more positive emotional state.
• By rationalizing actions or decisions, individuals can frame their experiences in a more favorable light, which can contribute to a sense of contentment and happiness. This positive reframing helps individuals focus on the benefits of their choices rather than the potential drawbacks.

Question 19

GRQ: Why is it important to distinguish between people’s reasons and the causes of those reasons

Answer 19

Reasons: These are the explanations people give for their actions or decisions. They often reflect the individual’s conscious thoughts, beliefs, and justifications. For instance, someone might say they exercised to improve their health.
Causes: These are the underlying factors that actually drive behavior. They might include unconscious desires, emotional states, or external pressures. For example, the actual cause for exercising might be a deep-seated desire to improve self-esteem or cope with stress.
- By distinguishing between reasons (conscious explanations) and causes (underlying factors), psychologists can gain a more accurate understanding of why people behave in certain ways. This helps in identifying both the conscious justifications people use and the deeper, often unconscious factors influencing their behavior.

Question 20

GRQ: How do choice blindness experiments shed light on rationalization?

Answer 20

• After making their choice, participants are presented with one of the options, sometimes switched with the alternative choice, and asked to justify their decision. Participants often fail to notice the switch and provide reasons for the choice they were actually given, not the one they initially selected.
• The experiments show that people’s preferences and justifications can be flexible and adaptive. When participants are asked to rationalize a choice they didn’t originally make, they often adjust their reasons to fit the new choice. This reveals how preferences are not always stable but can be influenced by contextual factors.
  -people rationalize their decisions and preferences by generating justifications that fit with the choices they are presented with, even if those choices differ from their initial ones. These experiments shed light on the cognitive processes underlying rationalization, including the need for consistency, the management of cognitive dissonance, and the role of unconscious influences.

Question 21

GRQ: Explain the cognitive response principle

Answer 21

the impact of a persuasive message is largely determined by the thoughts and mental responses it triggers in the recipient. In other words, the more positive, favorable, or engaged a person’s cognitive responses are in reaction to a persuasive message, the more likely they are to be influenced by it

Question 22

Why is it so hard to change people’s minds about topics central to their identities. And why that’s a good thing (for them)

Answer 22

• When faced with information that contradicts these core beliefs, people experience cognitive dissonance an uncomfortable psychological state resulting from holding conflicting beliefs. To resolve this discomfort, people are motivated to reject or rationalize the conflicting information rather than change their core beliefs.
  Beneficial:
  -Shared beliefs strengthen social bonds and group cohesion. By resisting changes to these beliefs, individuals preserve their social relationships and group affiliations.
• Beliefs central to one’s identity often come with supportive networks and communities. Maintaining these beliefs helps ensure continued support and acceptance from these networks.