Deck 3: Mass Communication, Propaganda, and Persuasion

Question 1

The main idea behind cognitive consistency theories, such as dissonance theory, is that incompatible attitudes:

A) are easily extinguished
B) are easy to change
C) make us feel uncomfortable
D) are very rare

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Bill and Mary are concerned because they feel their 13-year-old son spends too much time playing video games. One day, they came across a magazine article describing the positive and negative effects of video games on child development. After reading the article, Bill and Mary decided to show it to their son. According to dissonance theory, what would be the most likely impact of reading the article?

A) Bill and Mary would stop worrying now that they knew that video games had positive effects.
B) Bill and Mary would be more convinced than ever that video games are a bad influence on their son.
C) Their son would be more convinced than ever that video games were a bad influence on him.
D) Bill and Mary, as well as their son, would develop a more balanced view of video games.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Cognitive dissonance is defined as a state of tension:

A) that occurs whenever a person is motivated to change his or her attitudes
B) that occurs when a person thinks and acts irrationally
C) that occurs when a person simultaneously holds two cognitions that are psychologically inconsistent
D) that occurs when a person is unaware of his or her conflicting cognitions

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Bettors at a racetrack who were asked how confident they were about their chances of winning:

A) were more confident the more money they bet
B) were more confident right after having placed their bets
C) were less confident right after having placed their bets
D) were equally confident both before and after placing their bets

Question 5

A local store advertises a great sale on a certain computer. When you get to the store, the salesperson informs you that they are all out of that particular model but that they have another model that is "even better" than the sale model for "only" $500 more. This sales technique is known as:

A) foot-in-the-door
B) bait-and-hook
C) lowballing
D) switching

Question 6

Joe is given the choice between two record albums he has already ranked as numbers 4 and 5 on a 1-10 scale. Joe chooses #4. Two weeks later when Joe is asked to re-rank the 10 albums, he re-ranks #4 as #2. This example is best predicted by:

A) cognitive dissonance theory
B) reactance theory
C) stereotyping
D) the "just-world" hypothesis

Question 7

According to dissonance theory, we tend to experience dissonance after making an important decision because:

A) we often feel forced into choosing a particular alternative
B) the rejected alternative seems more attractive than the chosen alternative
C) the chosen alternative is seldom entirely positive, while the rejected alternatives are seldom entirely negative
D) we hardly ever have enough time to make a good decision

Question 8

Suppose Bob and Tom are asked to rate the attractiveness of a group of young women about their same age and a group of women about the same age as their mothers. Bob is engaged to be married, whereas Tom is dating many women. Generalizing from an experiment conducted by Simpson and his colleagues, you should expect that, in comparison to Tom, Bob would see the younger women as ________ attractive and the older women as ________ attractive.

A) less; equally
B) more; equally
C) equally; more
D) equally; less

Question 9

All other things being equal, cognitive dissonance following a decision is greatest when:

A) the decision was not engaged in freely but was coerced
B) the consequences of the decision were not foreseeable
C) the decision maker has low self-esteem
D) the decision is irrevocable

Question 10

Lord, Ross, and Lepper showed articles favoring and opposing capital punishment to groups of students who either opposed or were in favor of it. The results of this study showed that reading articles on both sides of the controversial issue:

A) brought the attitudes in the students closer together in a "middle" position
B) actually increased the difference in attitudes between the two groups
C) increased the self-esteem of members of both groups
D) decreased the self-esteem of members of both groups

Question 11

After choosing between two equally attractive appliances, women in Jack Brehm's study rated the appliance they selected:

A) as more attractive than the one they rejected
B) as less attractive than the one they rejected
C) as equally attractive as the one they rejected
D) as less attractive than a group of similar appliances they were not allowed to choose from

Question 12

The process of dissonance reduction is a/an __________ process.

A) controlled
B) unconscious
C) conscious
D) heart-wrenching

Question 13

According to dissonance theory, people are generally more motivated to:

A) believe they are right rather than to actually be right
B) be right rather than simply believe they are right
C) have others believe they are right rather than actually being right
D) be rational rather than simply subjective

Question 14

In 1997, a few members of Heaven's Gate, a religious cult, bought a telescope to view a comet. They returned the telescope a few days later and said that it was faulty because there was no spaceship behind the comet. This action:

A) is not consistent with cognitive dissonance theory
B) is consistent with cognitive dissonance theory because this is an external justification
C) is consistent with cognitive dissonance theory because it is an internal justification
D) produced more cognitive dissonance in the cult followers

Question 15

Although dissonance may be experienced in many cultures and species on our planet, the details of how it is expressed can vary across cultures. For example, in more communal cultures, people feel:

A) more dissonance when they need to justify personal misbehavior
B) more dissonance when their behavior disappoints others
C) less dissonance when their behavior disappoints others
D) less dissonance if they felt others had observed their actual choices

Question 16

Which of the following is not cited by Aronson as a possible way for people to reduce dissonance?

A) Changing one or both of their cognitions
B) Adding cognitions that bridge the gap between the original cognitions
C) Selectively exposing themselves to only certain information
D) Worrying more about the inconsistency that gives rise to the dissonance

Question 17

Jim has trouble deciding whether to buy a good-mileage, poor-maintenance MGB or a poor-mileage, easy-care Camaro. Finally, he buys the MGB. According to cognitive dissonance theory, he will probably spend most of his time concentrating on:

A) the good mileage he gets
B) when his car will break down
C) the unimportance of good mileage
D) the advantages of a low-maintenance car

Question 18

According to a survey gauging people's reactions to scientific evidence that smoking cigarettes causes cancer:

A) smokers who were planning to quit believed the report even more than nonsmokers did
B) smokers believed the report, but nonsmokers rejected it
C) smokers were far less likely to believe the report than nonsmokers were
D) smokers were likely to believe the report but still refused to quit smoking.

Question 19

Suppose you are ready to buy a new car. You have great difficulty choosing between Brand A and Brand B. Finally, you buy Brand A. According to dissonance theory, after you have driven the car for a few weeks, you will be most likely to emphasize:

A) the poor mileage you are getting in Brand A
B) how convenient the Brand A car is to park and drive
C) how pretty the Brand B car was
D) how you should have taken more time to make this difficult decision

Question 20

Carole has two boyfriends, Tim and Craig, whom she likes very much. Both of them really like her, too. She has decided, however, that dating both of them is making her life too complicated. After careful consideration, she decides to stop seeing Tim and to continue dating Craig. According to dissonance theory, which of the following is most likely to happen as a result of her decision?

A) She and Tim will continue to be good friends.
B) Tim will develop an intense dislike for Craig.
C) Craig will seem more attractive than ever.
D) Tim will seem more attractive, making her regret her decision.

Question 21

According to cognitive dissonance theory, a disadvantage of the use of large rewards is that:

A) the intrinsic value of the rewarded behavior may be reduced
B) work may be turned into play
C) people will assume that their behaviors have an internal source
D) people will eventually grow tired of the rewards and will refuse to perform the behavior

Question 22

Which of the following is NOT an important element in activating dissonance reduction processes?

A) The person's decision cannot be changed-it is irrevocable.
B) The person's action was voluntary-it was not forced.
C) The person was given large rewards.
D) The person's self-concept is threatened by the decision or action.

Question 23

Festinger and Carlsmith (1959) performed an experiment in which subjects were asked to lie to a "fellow student" for either $1 or $20. For subjects in the $1 condition, dissonance was created by the cognitions "I am an ethical person" and "I have told a lie." Based on the results of this study, which of the following statements best expresses how subjects probably reduced this dissonance?

A) "I did not really tell a lie-what I said is quite true."
B) "Though I told that person a lie and I know it, what she doesn't know won't hurt her."
C) "Lying is a terrible thing."
D) "I guess I'm not really a very ethical person at all."

Question 24

The amount of dissonance produced when a person engages in an attitude-discrepant act is greatest when the rewards are:

A) much greater than would be needed to induce the act in question
B) so small that the act fails to occur
C) secondary reinforcers
D) just sufficient to induce the act

Question 25

Suppose you wanted to convince someone who is opposed to marijuana that it should be legalized. According to cognitive dissonance theory, what would be the best way to change that person's attitude?

A) Give him or her a substantial reward to openly endorse the legalization of marijuana.
B) Provide that person with as many convincing arguments and facts as possible in favor of marijuana until he or she changes his or her attitude.
C) Offer the person a small reward to openly endorse legalization but one just large enough to get him or her to endorse it.
D) Create the illusion that everyone else favors legalization so that disagreeing will make the individual feel uncomfortable.

Question 26

Suppose you conduct an experiment in which a child is placed in a room with a highly attractive toy. Generalizing from Freedman's research, you could diminish the child's attraction to the toy by:

A) using a mild threat of punishment for playing with the toy
B) using a severe threat of punishment for playing with the toy
C) using no threat of punishment for playing with the toy
D) using a mild promise of reward for playing with the toy

Question 27

Aronson argues that typically when dissonance arises, it is because we:

A) have high self-esteem
B) have done something that violates our view of ourselves
C) can't internally justify our actions
D) have a clear external justification for our actions

Question 28

In a study discussed in the text, students were paid either $20 or $1 for telling collaborative subjects that a dull task was actually interesting. Which group showed greater attitude change in actually rating the task as interesting?

A) The group that told the lie for $1
B) The group that told the lie for $20
C) The group that refused to tell the lie for $1
D) The group that refused to tell the lie for $20

Question 29

Zimbardo's experiment on the effects of dissonance arousal on pain, in which subjects received a series of intense electric shocks under different conditions, found that:

A) subjects felt less pain when they were allowed to deliver the shocks to themselves rather than receiving them from the experimenter
B) subjects felt more pain when they were allowed to deliver the shocks to themselves rather than receiving them from the experimenter
C) subjects felt less pain when they volunteered to receive the shocks
D) subjects felt less pain when they received a large reward for receiving the shocks

Question 30

Freedman and Fraser, in their door-to-door study in which housewives were asked to sign a petition or put an ugly sign in their yard, found that subjects who agreed to a ________ request first were ________ likely to comply with another request.

A) small; more
B) large; less
C) small; less
D) large; more

Question 31

According to dissonance theory, as the external justifications for performing an act decrease, the need to find internal justifications for performing the act tends to:

A) decrease
B) increase
C) remain the same
D) decrease rapidly, followed by a gradual increase

Question 32

In Freedman's study, children who were given mild threats of punishment for playing with a robot toy:

A) were more likely to play with the toy than those who received severe threats
B) refused to play with the toy even after Freedman had left and several weeks had passed
C) refused to play with the toy while Freedman was present but began playing with it as soon as he left
D) played with the toy but liked it less than the children who received severe threats

Question 33

As part of a psychology experiment, Ed and Todd write essays saying that seat belts are unnecessary and that laws requiring them should be abolished. From a questionnaire given several weeks before, it is known that both Ed and Todd are actually in favor of laws requiring seat belts. In the experiment, Ed is given a very small reward for writing an essay, while Todd is given a large reward for writing the essay. If their attitudes are subsequently measured, what is the most likely result?

A) Todd will favor seat belts more than before; Ed will be more opposed.
B) Todd's attitude about seat belts will not change; Ed's will become stronger that seat belts are unnecessary.
C) Todd's attitude about seat belts will not change; Ed's will become stronger that seat belts are necessary.
D) Todd will favor seat belts more than before; Ed's attitudes will not change.

Question 34

According to cognitive dissonance theory, if Abby wanted her roommate Rachel to pick up her clothes instead of leaving them on the floor, Abby would get the most behavioral change if she:

A) severely punished Rachel when she threw her clothes down
B) used a very mild punishment that was enough to get Rachel to pick up her clothes
C) used a very mild punishment that was not enough to get Rachel to pick up her clothes
D) did not use any punishment whatsoever

Question 35

Imagine that someone asked you to do something you found very distasteful, such as eating a handful of sugar-coated beetles. For the sake of argument, let's say that you complied and ate the beetles. According to dissonance theory, under which of the following conditions would you be most likely to find the experience of eating beetles enjoyable?

A) When your best friend offered you a large reward for eating them
B) When a person you disliked offered you a large reward for eating them
C) When your best friend offered you a small reward for eating them
D) When a person you disliked offered you a small reward for eating them

Question 36

The foot-in-the-door technique:

A) is a method of encouraging people to do a small favor after they've refused to comply with a larger request
B) is a method of encouraging people to do a favor for us after we have granted them a small request
C) is a method of encouraging people to do a larger favor after they've agreed to an initially small request
D) is a method of using increasingly larger rewards to encourage people to comply with increasingly larger requests

Question 37

Studies have found that instructions that emphasize identity (e.g., don't be a cheater) versus ones that emphasize behavior (e.g., don't cheat):

A) cause the greatest dissonance in people
B) produce the least amount of dissonance
C) produce the same amount of dissonance
D) have a delayed "sleeper effect" on dissonance arousal

Question 38

According to Mills's study of cheating among sixth graders, students ________ after having resisted the temptation to cheat on an exam.

A) developed more tolerant attitudes toward cheating
B) adopted harsher attitudes toward cheating
C) were more tempted to cheat in the future
D) actually performed better on later exams

Question 39

Aronson argues that the key to understanding whether dissonance will be aroused is whether people:

A) are aware of their original attitudes
B) feel their behavior threatens their self-concept
C) have time to think about their actions or must act spontaneously
D) hurt another person

Question 40

Ginny is asked to give a speech in favor of requiring all students to take two years of a foreign language, although her personal position is for no such requirement. Under which of the following circumstances would you expect her attitude to undergo the most change in favor of the requirement?

A) She agrees and is paid $1,000.
B) She agrees and is paid $10.
C) She decides not to give the speech, even though she is offered $1,000.
D) She decides not to give the speech, even though she is offered $10.

Question 41

Lucas believes that because women take longer to learn mechanical skills at his factory, they have less mechanical aptitude, and therefore he is justified in not hiring any women. Lucas's belief system is best thought of as an example of:

A) the inoculation effect
B) the self-fulfilling prophecy
C) the initiation effect
D) the "turnabout is fair play" effect

Question 42

Dissonance effects are greatest when:

A) people do not feel personally responsible for their actions
B) people's actions are consistent with a central aspect of their self-concept
C) people's actions have serious consequences
D) the action is irrevocable: a person cannot take it back

Question 43

Suppose you had volunteered to be in an experiment in which you believe you have just given painful electric shocks to another person. According to cognitive dissonance theory, you would:

A) estimate that the shocks were more painful than they actually were
B) have a lower opinion of the victims after the experiment than before
C) have a higher opinion of the subjects after the experiment than before
D) experience a temporary increase in your self-esteem

Question 44

Darrin Lehman and Shelley Taylor studied college students who lived in Los Angeles, the site of an impending earthquake. In their interviews with students, they found that:

A) students living in seismically unsafe buildings planned to move to safer structures
B) students living in seismically unsafe buildings tended to be less familiar with safety measures than those living in safe buildings
C) students living in seismically unsafe buildings tended to underestimate the damage that would result from a major quake
D) students living in safer buildings spread more rumors about impending earthquakes

Question 45

In a study by Mettee and Aronson, subjects whose self-esteem had been temporarily lowered were more likely to cheat at a card game than subjects whose self-esteem was temporarily increased. According to Aronson, the results of this study suggest that:

A) low self-esteem reinforces the belief that cheating is worth the risk of getting caught
B) high self-esteem reinforces the belief that cheating is worth the risk of getting caught
C) behaving in an immoral fashion is more dissonance arousing for people with high self-esteem than for those with low self-esteem
D) behaving in an immoral fashion is less dissonance arousing for people with high self-esteem than for those with low self-esteem

Question 46

Which of the following conclusions is supported by Aronson and Mills's experiment in which subjects underwent either a severe or a mild initiation to join a boring discussion group?

A) The more you like something, the harder you will work for it.
B) The less you like something, the harder you will work for it.
C) The harder you work for something, the more you will like it.
D) The harder you work for something, the less you will like it.

Question 47

Dissonance reduction processes can make:

A) us like a person we hurt in order to compensate the person for our mistake
B) us dislike a person we hurt in order to justify hurting the person
C) us dislike a person we do a favor for because we come to resent doing the favor
D) people with high self-esteem cheat more because they feel less guilty

Question 48

In a study by Davis and Jones, subjects volunteered to insult a "fellow student" by telling him he was a shallow, untrustworthy, and dull person. How did these subjects justify their hurtful behavior toward the other student, who had done nothing to deserve criticism?

A) By agreeing to help the other student with a difficult task
B) By finding the other student less attractive than before they had insulted him
C) By convincing themselves that they had been forced to deliver the insults
D) By promising themselves they would never again perform such an unkind act

Question 49

Suppose you are responsible for planning the initiation of new members to a group to which you belong. Generalizing from Aronson and Mills's study on the effects of initiation on liking the group, you would do well to make the initiation process:

A) difficult or unpleasant
B) easy and pleasant
C) closely resemble the activities of the group
D) very different from the regular activities in which the group engages

Question 50

Research on self-esteem and narcissism has shown that people with high self-esteem but low narcissism ________, while people with high self-esteem coupled with high narcissism ________.

A) use less painful stimuli on others; use the most painful stimuli on others
B) use the most painful stimuli on others; use less painful stimuli on others
C) use the highest pain settings on others; also use the highest pain settings
D) use the lowest pain settings on others; also use the lowest pain settings

Question 51

Research participants were less likely to blame the victim in Harber's research that used a sexual assault scene from the movie The Accused when:

A) they were instructed to suppress their feelings and write only about the facts in the movie
B) they were instructed to feely express their deepest thoughts and feelings about the movie
C) they were told to be fair-minded when writing about the facts of the movie
D) all the above

Question 52

In his text, Aronson argues that Jim Jones was able to persuade people to comply with his demands by first making small demands and then increasing them. This analysis is most similar to the research conducted by:

A) Freedman and Fraser on the "foot-in-the-door" technique
B) Freedman on the threat of punishment
C) Aronson and Mills on the severity of initiation
D) Hastorf and Cantril on the Princeton-Dartmouth football game

Question 53

How did Aronson and Mettee manipulate self-esteem in their article on self-esteem and dishonest behavior?

A) They selected subjects who rated themselves as either high or low on a standardized test of self-esteem.
B) They gave subjects false feedback about their personalities based on results of a personality test they had taken.
C) They made the cheating task much more tempting for those subjects in the low-self-esteem condition.
D) They told people in the low-self-esteem condition that others found them to be physically unattractive.

Question 54

Why is it, according to dissonance theory, that we evaluate favorably those goals we've had to suffer for?

A) The goals themselves are valuable; otherwise, we wouldn't go to all that time and trouble.
B) Deep down, people really like to work hard for what they get.
C) We are motivated to justify the time and effort we've spent.
D) Reaching the goal ends our suffering and, thus, is rewarding.

Question 55

How does cognitive dissonance explain a husband beating up his wife while he still sees himself as a decent human being?

A) It cannot explain these evil acts, which are punishable by law.
B) It explains that the husband learned this violence from his dad.
C) He convinces himself that his wife deserved the beating from her evil actions.
D) He knows when stress builds in his life, something has to give.

Question 56

In comparison to people with low self-esteem, cognitive dissonance theory suggests that persons with high self-esteem are ________ likely to experience dissonance if they hurt someone and ________ likely to derogate a victim whom they have hurt.

A) more; more
B) less; less
C) more; less
D) less; more

Question 57

Aronson and his colleagues found that he was best able to convince students to use condoms regularly when:

A) they were exposed to a high-fear campaign detailing the awful consequences of getting AIDS
B) they were reminded of their own failures to use condoms and they made a speech advocating condom use
C) they could obtain condoms for free by simply asking for them
D) they were given an embarrassing "lesson" on how to use and remove them