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

In experiments conducted by Mike Leippe and Donna Eisenstadt (1994,1998),why did white participants experience dissonance after writing essays in favor of doubling scholarship funds for minority students?

Based on information from the authors of your text about cognitive dissonance and immoral behavior,which of the following people would be most likely to condone having an extramarital affair?

Recall that Yale researcher A.R.Cohen (1962)conducted research at a time when the Yale police were very unpopular with the students.He paid some students relatively little and other students relatively more to write an essay that contradicted their true beliefs about the Yale police,with whom the student body had experienced unpleasant run-ins.Results of this experiment were noteworthy because they demonstrated that

The authors of your text report that lowballing works as a persuasion technique for three reasons.Which of the following is NOT one of those reasons?

According to the authors of your text,when people are tempted to behave immorally and they choose to be either moral or immoral in that situation,how do they justify their actions?

If a person goes through a demanding process involving lots of effort and hard work to achieve a goal,what would cognitive dissonance suggest that person will think about the experience afterwards?

People who had already placed their two-dollar bets were more confident than people who were waiting in line to place their bets (Knox & Inkster,1968).These findings suggest that decisions that are ____ generate more cognitive dissonance than decisions that are not.

According to the authors of your text,when the Bush administration received evidence that there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq-but after they had already invested troops and money in the war-the administration engaged in

Phil spent an hour and a half running cables and toying with connections in order to receive cable TV in his room.When he was finished,he got fifty channels,but all of them were kind of fuzzy.His roommate,Jason,arrived home when Phil was done,and they both sat down to watch TV.Which one will enjoy the cable TV the most?

When our behaviors are inconsistent with our values or beliefs,we are not likely to experience cognitive dissonance if

According to the authors of your text,researchers have found evidence that dissonance reduction is associated with the ____ in the brain.

According to the authors of your text,after carefully making a decision,what is likely to happen?

The most typical ways of reducing dissonance include all of the following except

Recall that Aronson and his colleagues (1991,1993)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.Considering which participants in this study later actually purchased more condoms,what would be the best way a high school Health teacher could promote condom use in his/her class?

When people act contrary to their self-perceptions as reasonable and sensible people,they experience a feeling known as ____.

According to the authors of your text,why do young people often fail to use condoms every time they have sex?

As you and your friends returned and met up for the first time since high school,you find that you've all taken different paths in life.Based on cognitive dissonance and the principles of justification of effort,who would be the least satisfied with what he or she is currently doing?

In a study by Gilbert and Ebert (2002),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?

Scott believes very strongly that saccharine is an unsafe sugar substitute that may even cause cancer.Even though Scott is diabetic,and thus should be using sugar substitutes,he often opts for sugar-laden foods and drinks to avoid saccharine."I'll just exercise more later; the sugar isn't a big deal.I'm really being healthier by avoiding saccharine," he thinks to himself.Scott's behavior and thoughts are examples of ____ in the face of cognitive dissonance.

Dissonance theorists might assert that just as we suffer for the things we like,we also convince ourselves that we like the things for which we suffer.Use concepts related to the justification of effort to explain this statement.