Exam 7: Attitudes, Behavior, and Rationalization

Although you want to chat with your friend during class, you're worried that the professor or other students would notice. You choose not to talk to your friend. This illustrates that

Describe the conditions under which attitude-behavior inconsistency is most likely to produce dissonance.

Getting paid a lot of money to do things that violate one's core values-as compared to getting no money to violate one's values-should

Many people who choose not to have children suspect that homebound, sleep-deprived, and financially strapped parents are fooling themselves when they say that nothing in life brings them more pleasure. In other words, these childless people suggest that parents put a lot of energy into ________ in order to decrease cognitive dissonance.

Luisa just made a dentist appointment. Although she feels terrified of the dentist, she thinks that maintaining a healthy smile is important. This example best illustrates that

Define attitude and describe the components of an attitude.

Making hard decisions triggers negative emotion, which in turn triggers processes of rationalization that make us comfortable with our decisions. This statement captures the phenomenon explained by ________ theory.

Attitudes do a good job predicting behavior when

Attitudes often fail to predict behavior with the accuracy we might expect. Explain how this failure could result from the level of specificity in which the attitudes and behaviors are measured.

Challenge the widely held belief that attitudes do a good job of predicting a person's behavior.

Janet has received two job offers, one from SimpCo and another from JebCo, both companies for which she would be thrilled to work. Janet thinks a lot about each offer and ends up accepting JebCo's offer, even though she thought highly of both. Analyze the effects of Janet's decision on her later attitudes and behavior relating to both SimpCo and JebCo. To do this, draw directly on social psychological theory and research findings.

Cacioppo and colleagues have examined how arm movements can influence attitudes by asking participants to view Chinese characters while either extending an arm away from or flexing an arm toward themselves. Which of the following best sums up the results of this research?

Explain the embodied nature of emotion and cognition and describe two research studies that show the relation between bodily movements and attitudes.

Katerina loves to read books. Her parents think that reading books is important, so they reward her with $5 every time she reads a book. Over time, Katerina decides that she does not really love books all that much. This is an example of the

Let's say a company that makes a consumer product such as laundry detergent asks customers to write a testimonial about the product in exchange for a small chance of winning a small prize. What does cognitive dissonance theory predict will happen to consumers who participate and write the testimonial?

Jamal loves strawberry ice cream, whereas Maria does not feel strongly about strawberry ice cream. Which of them would have longer response latencies (e.g., would respond slower) to a question about his or her attitude toward strawberry ice cream?

Consider the following quote: "How do I know what I think until I hear what I say?" The sentiment expressed in this quote captures the essence of

When researchers use a Likert scale to assess participants' attitudes, they

Jeff believes in saving the environment but finds himself throwing away aluminum cans because his college campus does not recycle. He may experience an aversive emotional state due to the inconsistency between his attitudes and his behavior. This is an example of

Dissonance theory suggests that people ________ their attitudes as a result of dissonance, whereas self-perception theory suggests that people ________ their attitudes from observing their behaviors.