Chapter 5: The Self
Terms
Introspection
Self-knowledge
Relational vs. collective interdependence
Self-awareness theory
Causal theories
Reasons-generated attitude change
Self-perception theory
Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation
Task-contingent vs. performance-contingent rewards
Two-factor theory of emotion (Schachter & Singer)
Misattribution of arousal
Social comparison theory
Upward and downward social comparison
Social tuning
Self-control
Thought suppression
Self-regulatory resource model
Impression management
Ingratiation
Self-handicapping
Self-esteem (as defined in your textbook)
narcissism
What is the earliest indication of a self-awareness or self-concept in babies? About what age
does this appear?
What are the four components of the self?
What is the self-concept and why is it so important?
Does culture influence the choices we make in defining our self?
On average, do people spend a great deal of time introspecting?
Does introspection generally reveal the reasons for our feelings?
According to self-awareness theory, what are people doing when they focus on themselves? Is
this always pleasant? Why or why not? Does this tend to make us more or less moral?
Explain the phrase “telling more than we can know”.
What happens (or can happen) if you offer people extrinsic rewards for performing intrinsicallymotivated behavior?
In general, which are better – task-contingent or performance-contingent rewards? Explain.
Schachter and Singer did a cluster of the most famous experiments in social psychology. What
were their results and interpretation?
Carol Dweck talks about fixed and growth mindsets. How do these relate to success?
In social comparison, what determines to whom we compare ourselves?
When we adopt other people’s views, do we always do so consciously?
Does thought suppression work well as a means of self-control?
How might going on a “starvation” diet which allows you very few calories backfire?
What are the personal advantages of positive self-evaluations?
Does high self-esteem lead to better performance, better social relationships, and /or decreases in
bad or risky behavior?
How does Jean Twenge explain the measurable increase in narcissism in U.S. culture?
How did Dunn et al. (2008) demonstrate that “it is more blessed to give than to receive”?
Do narcissists fare better in life than others? Explain.
Chapter 6: The Need to Justify Our Actions
Terms
Cognitive dissonance
Self-affirmation
Post-decision dissonance
Internal vs. external justification
Impact bias
Post-decision dissonance
Lowballing
Counter attitudinal advocacy
Self-persuasion
Insufficient punishment
Hypocrisy induction
Ben Franklin Effect
dehumanization
The need to resolve cognitive dissonance is powerful because we have a need to maintain a
stable, positive image of ourselves. Dissonance occurs when we encounter information that
threatens this image. Dissonance is motivating because it causes discomfort.
In order to resolve dissonance, we can 1) change our behavior; 2) change a dissonant cognition;
3) add new cognitions.
Is dissonance reduction largely conscious or unconscious?
Who feels the most dissonance after doing something cruel, foolish or incompetent, the person
with low or the person with high self-esteem?
The relationship between dissonance and self-esteem is tricky. The idea is that if you have an
elevated image of yourself, you will want to preserve it with good performance, moral behavior,
etc. Hence, raising a person’s self-esteem will result in a payoff of hard work and good
behavior. This may work under limited conditions. However, psychology sold this bill of goods
to education and created the self-esteem movement. Thirty to forty years later, the data show
that the “empty” self-esteem created did not result in any performance or behavioral
improvements. Instead, it resulted in entitlement attitudes, irresponsibility, and an increase in
measured narcissism (probably due to use of other dissonance reduction mechanisms which
distort reality).
Now, there is a backlash in psychology against the self-esteem movement and an admission that
self-esteem interventions should be firmly grounded in reality.
Does increasing the importance of a decision increase or decrease the dissonance?
Does increasing the permanence and irrevocability of a decision increase or decrease the
dissonance? Given this, does keeping your options open make you happier? Why or why not?
Why or how does lowballing work?
Does the person who succumbs to temptation after a struggle later become more lenient or
stricter on the behavior? How about the person who resists temptation? Explain this as
resolution of cognitive dissonance.
How do we resolve the dissonance of having exerted great effort or spent a lot of money on
something that may turn out not to be all that wonderful?
In external justification, you have a reason for acting counter to your attitude or self-image. Do
you experience much dissonance? What happens if you don’t have an external justification?
(The external justification could be a rationalization – phony but plausible reason.)
How does saying become believing?
When you are trying to get people to change their attitudes based on counterattitudinal advocacy,
should you offer a large or a small reward?
How can you use counterattitudinal advocacy to effect prejudice, use of marijuana, or even to
reduce the risk of development of eating disorders?
Behaviors that are punished by parents and/or society are those that we want the individual to
stop. Generally the reason that the individuals are engaging in those behaviors is that the
behaviors are intrinsically rewarding (fun). The first rule of punishment is that if the pain of the
punishment exceeds the fun of the behavior, then we will succeed in stopping the behavior.
However, this is one-time-only or for future situations that we are able to monitor and enforce.
How do we get the offender to agree with us and decide not to engage in the behavior in the
future?
Cognitive dissonance theory offers some insight. Not doing something (the offending behavior)
that you enjoy doing creates dissonance (for example, just doing the speed limit when you like to
drive fast). You then ask yourself why you are driving so slowly in order to reduce the
dissonance. If you are afraid of strong punishment – a heavy fine or losing your driver’s license,
you have an external justification for your behavior. However, if the threat of punishment is
light (Maybe you would only expect a warning ticket or your spouse to complain.) and you slow
down, you need to add some internal justification. Then you may convince yourself that driving
too fast is not all that much fun and may be dangerous. The danger in this paradigm is that if the
threat of punishment is too light you may not slow down. In this case you may increase the
value of driving fast as you justify that you persisted in spite of these minor threats and
annoyances. (This might be a good one to stop and ponder.)
The principle is that large rewards and punishments are external justifications that result in
compliance, but not permanent attitude change.
What were the variables that needed to enhance one another in the Aronson study where students
changed their attitudes about unsafe sex and AIDs?
How does inducing hypocrisy reduce the need to retaliate?
How do you justify cruelty?
Chapter 7: Attitudes & Attitude Change
Terms
Attitude
Cognitively-based attitude
Affectively-based attitude
Classical conditioning
Operant conditioning
Behaviorally-based attitude
Implicit attitude
Explicit attitude
Persuasive communication
Yale Attitude Change Approach
Elaboration likelihood model
Central route to persuasion
Peripheral route to persuasion
Need for cognition
Attitude inoculation
Attitude accessibility
Theory of planned behavior
Subliminal messages
Where do we get our attitudes?
What is the difference between an implicit and an explicit attitude?
What does cognitive dissonance have to do with attitude change?
Do attitudes change in response to social influence?
What is the difference between the central and peripheral routes to persuasion?
According to the Yale Attitude Change Approach, what are the three factors in “who said
what to whom?”
What two characteristics make speakers more persuasive?
What characteristics of the nature of the communication make it more or less
persuasive?
What characteristics of the audience make it easier or harder to persuade?
What is one factor in being motivated to pay attention to a communication?
How are people with a high need for cognition more likely to form their attitudes?
What happens to the attitudes of people who base them on a careful analysis of the
arguments?
What are fear-arousing communications and do they generally lead to attitude change?
How do we use our emotions as a heuristic for attitude change?
Describe the theory of attitude inoculation.
What are most ads geared to in order for them to work?
What is a subliminal message? Does it work?
What is propaganda?
What is the Delphi technique?
Where did political correctness come from and how is it used?