Question 1

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.Which (fictitious) participant below would experience the most dissonance and express a greater willingness to use condoms in the future?

Accepted Answer

A)  Jane, who spoke before a video camera, but did not list the times it was hard to use condoms 
B)  Paul, who did not deliver his speech on video, but listed the times he found it hard to use condoms 
C)  Sally, who delivered her speech, and listed the times she found it hard to use condoms 
D)  Otis, who did not deliver his speech, and did not list the times he found it hard to use condoms

Question 2

Why did participants in an experiment conducted by Berscheid and her colleagues (1968) derogate their victims unless they thought they would switch roles with the victim and receive shocks themselves? In this case, participants

Accepted Answer

A)  reasoned that the victim would have a chance to even the score. 
B)  were motivated to justify their cruel behaviors. 
C)  experienced maximal dissonance, and convinced themselves that the victim deserved it. 
D)  chose to become a victim, too, in order to make the situation fairer.

Question 3

All of the following processes EXCEPT ??????????????????????________ are motivated by the need to preserve or maintain self-esteem.

Accepted Answer

A)  changing one's attitude in the direction of one's behavior 
B)  distancing oneself from a close other who outdoes one in a domain one cares about 
C)  making upward social comparisons 
D)  blaming the victim

Question 4

Petar and Nikolas love the house that they just toured.It is a short sale for $180,000, which is a great price.They are very excited and want to put in an offer.After they begin the paperwork, their realtor tells them that the price does not include the fixtures or the appliances.Those will likely cost an extra $20,000.What tactic is the realtor using?

Accepted Answer

A)  lowballing 
B)  bait and switch 
C)  intrinsic motivation 
D)  priming

Question 5

Recall that researchers conducted an experiment in which some participants were asked by the experimenter to return the monetary compensation they had received as a special favor to him, while others were asked by the department secretary to return the money as a favor to the psychology department, and still others received no such request for the return of their compensation.The researchers found that participants who were approached by the experimenter evaluated him better than did participants in the other two experimental conditions.Why?

Accepted Answer

A)  They felt guilty because the compensation was too generous. 
B)  Doing a favor for someone leads us to justify our own behavior. 
C)  The experimenter's request was more polite than the secretary's. 
D)  The experimenter promised to compensate them in another way.

Question 6

Imagine you really enjoy lying out in the sun to get a deep, dark tan.If you heard arguments both for and against tanning, you would probably remember ________ arguments for tanning, and ________ arguments against tanning.

Accepted Answer

A)  long; short 
B)  short; long 
C)  plausible; implausible 
D)  implausible; plausible

Question 7

The authors of your text explain that people tend to overestimate how bad they will feel if a negative event were to happen to them.This tendency is called

Accepted Answer

A) the rationalization trap. 
B) cognitive dissonance. 
C) self-affirmation. 
D) the impact bias.

Question 8

When people state publicly an opinion that is at odds with their own private attitudes, they are engaging in

Accepted Answer

A)  dissonance reduction. 
B)  justification of effort. 
C)  counterattitudinal advocacy. 
D)  seeking external justifications.

Question 9

How would a dissonance theorist explain the paradoxical finding that we are apt to like our adversaries after doing them a favor and to dislike our friends after treating them badly?

Accepted Answer

The answer of How would a dissonance theorist explain the...

Question 10

In a study referred to in the text (Peterson, Haynes, & Olson, 2008), smokers were asked to create an antismoking video to be shown to high school students, invoking dissonance in the smokers.Based on other research in this chapter, how were these smokers, who particularly felt like hypocrites, most likely to behave?

Accepted Answer

A)  They would feel a sudden urge to smoke. 
B)  They would increase intentions to quit smoking. 
C)  They could change the topic of conversation to something more comfortable. 
D)  They could use denial.

Question 11

Two weeks after making a public statement at odds with his previous positions, which politician is most likely to report to his close friends that he sticks by his most recent (contradictory) statement?

Accepted Answer

A)  a candidate who spoke at a $1,000 a plate fundraiser 
B)  a candidate who was far behind in the polls and had to shift tactics 
C)  a candidate who was "cornered" by demonstrators 
D)  a candidate who couldn't quite figure out why he contradicted himself

Question 12

People generally ________ think they would like to be able to easily change a decision they've made; however, the research on cognitive dissonance suggests that people actually are ________ with their choice when a decision is more permanent.

Accepted Answer

A) do; happier 
B) do; not as happy 
C) do not; happier 
D) do not; not as happy

Question 13

Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy once wrote, "We do not love people so much for the good they have done us as for the good we have done them." This quote is most closely related to the concept of

Accepted Answer

A)  postdecision dissonance. 
B)  self-verification. 
C)  esteem enhancement. 
D)  the Ben Franklin effect.

Question 14

In addition to the pull of charismatic leaders, the social support of fellow cult members, and the isolation of cult members from dissenting viewpoints, why else do cult members behave as they do?

Accepted Answer

A) They are people of low intelligence. 
B) The leaders are authoritarian and the followers are unintelligent. 
C) The members usually are suicidal and depressed. 
D) There is a high degree of cognitive dissonance in members' minds.

Question 15

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

Accepted Answer

A)  was embarrassed by the tasks, and wanted to please the experimenters. 
B)  felt like a hypocrite, and changed her attitude to reduce the dissonance. 
C)  changed her attitude to convince the experimenters to destroy her videotape. 
D)  felt a like a hypocrite and maintained her attitude to maintain dissonance.

Question 16

George thinks of himself as an honest person until his brother reminds him that he's been known to keep extra change given to him by a cashier and to stock his home office for a sideline business with supplies taken from his job.George is now probably feeling a sense of discomfort known as

Accepted Answer

A)  misattribution of arousal. 
B)  self-serving bias. 
C)  cognitive dissonance. 
D)  anxiety.

Question 17

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

Accepted Answer

A)  couldn't remember what they picked. 
B)  selected colors only at random. 
C)  showed postdecision dissonance. 
D)  couldn't see the colors.

Exam 6: The Need to Justify Our Actions: the Costs and Benefits of Dissonance Reduction