Exam 6: The Need to Justify Our Actions

Recall that in experiments presented in your text (Leippe & Eisenstadt, 1994; 1998), white college students agreed to write essays in favor of doubling funds for minority student scholarships, even though that policy would reduce funds available for majority students. What happened? Participants

________ refers to the tendency of people to increase their liking for something they have worked hard to attain.

According to the authors of your text, what is one way people can begin to learn from their mistakes?

According to research presented in the text, students shot a roll of film and printed two photographs. Some were told that they could exchange the one they chose to keep within five days, but others were told that their choice was final. Which group of students liked their photograph best?

________ refers to long-lasting attitude change that arises from attempts to reduce cognitive dissonance.

A number of researchers have found that people from ________ cultures are less likely to engage in obvious attempts to reduce cognitive dissonance.

Carla has just written out a check for $13,999 to pay for her new car. Although the salesperson had initially accepted her check, she is now told that there was a mistake and that the final total should really be $14, 250. Carla writes another check for $251 to cover the difference so that she can drive out with her new car. Carla has just fallen prey to a questionable sales practice called

People tend to fall subject to the impact bias (and not understand that they will usually successfully reduce cognitive dissonance) because reducing cognitive dissonance is

Ronald wants to start a new club on campus, and he really wants his members to be involved and love the club. How would you suggest he use effort justification to increase members' sense of enjoyment of the club and their loyalty to the club?

According to information presented in this chapter, researchers exposed people who were strongly in favor of segregation and strongly opposed to segregation to both plausible and silly arguments in favor of both sides of the issue. If those people were responding in a purely rational or logical way, they would be most likely to remember

Consider the findings from a study by Peterson, Haynes, and Olson (2008) in which smokers were asked to create an antismoking video to be shown to high school students, thereby invoking dissonance in the smokers. Based on the findings about which participants were most likely to intend to quit smoking, who do you think would be most likely to reduce dissonance by changing his or her behavior?

The authors of your text provide the example of the most recent war in Iraq to demonstrate the dangers of what can happen when political leaders

The authors of your text present a study in which monkeys were given a choice between different colors of M&Ms-later, their preference for different colors of M&Ms was reassessed. The researchers found that the monkeys

Megan is always reminding her son Andrew not to talk with his mouth full. One morning, Andrew reminds her not to talk with her mouth full. This situation most resembles ________.

Of the following, how are individuals most likely to reduce cognitive dissonance?

According to information presented in this chapter, researchers exposed people who were strongly in favor of segregation and strongly opposed to segregation to both plausible and silly arguments in favor of both sides of the issue. They found that people tended to best recall

Assume that in experiments conducted by Aronson and his colleagues Sally was randomly assigned to write and deliver a pro-condom speech to be shown to high school students. She also listed all the times she found it awkward or impossible to use condoms in her sexual encounters. After completing these tasks, Sally reduced her dissonance by reporting a greater willingness to use condoms in her future sexual activities. Why? She

Why does self-persuasion work better than being lectured by other people to behave in a certain way?

Recall that Aronson and his colleagues asked college students either to compose a persuasive message advocating the use of condoms or to compose and deliver their message in front of a video camera. In addition, half of the participants in each group were made mindful of the times that they didn't use condoms. After completing these tasks, participants were allowed to purchase condoms at a low price. What is the significance of their findings from this experiment? They demonstrated that

Hai has been taking expensive beta-carotene supplements for years because he believes they will reduce his risk of cancer. Hai has just learned that a well-controlled study published in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine showed that beta-carotene supplements do not reduce cancer risk. Hai is probably experiencing