[Social Psychology Course Note] Ch 6

Posted on 2019-06-17 Edited on 2020-02-25 Word count in article: 4k Reading time ≈ 4 mins.

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

Cognitive dissonance
- Discomfort that people feel when two cognitions (beliefs,attitudes) conflict, or when they behave in ways that are inconsistent with their conception of themselves
Important and provocative social psychological theory
Threats to self-image
- Induces powerful, upsetting dissonance

The tendency to overestimate the intensity and duration of our emotional reactions to future negative events

Why does impact bias occur ?
- Process of reducing dissonance is largely unconscious

Dissonance most painful when one of the cognitions is about the self
- Particularly true for those with high self-esteem
Temporary blows to self-esteem can lead to greater behaviors consistent with low opinion of the self (e.g., cheat)
People less likely to cheat when their self-concept of “not being a cheater” is invoked

Every time we make a decision, we experience dissonance
- Chosen alternative has some negative aspects
- Rejected alternative has some positive aspects
- 得不到的最好

Distort likes and dislikes
- Downplay
  - Negative aspects of chosen alternative
  - Positive aspects of rejected alternative
Postdecision dissonance 決策後的失調

When decisions are permanent (irrevocable)
- Dissonance increases
- Motivation to reduce dissonance increases
Lowballing 低球法
- Salesperson induces a customer to agree to purchase a product at a very low cost, subsequently claims it was an error, and then raise the price
- Frequently, the customer will agree to make the purchase at the inflated price

Moral dilemmas
- Implications for self-esteem
Dissonance reduction
- People may behave either more ethically or less ethically in the future
Example: cheating on a test
- Dissonance
  - Positive view of self inconsistent with dishonest behavior
- How to reduce dissonance ?
  - Change attitude about cheating
    - “Not a big deal, everyone does it”

People may interpret ambiguities in a positive way when it helps to justify effort
The tendency for individuals to increase their liking for something they have worked hard to attain

Stating an opinion or attitude that tuns counter to one’s private belief or attitude

If threat of punishment for engaging in a forbidden behavior is severe
- There is sufficient external justification for refraining from behavior
If punishment is less severe
- There is insufficient external justification
- Creates greater need for internal justification
  - Change attitudes via self-persuasion
Insufficient punishment
When external justification for resisting an object or activity is insufficient
- Dissonance is aroused
- Reduce dissonance by
  - Self-persuasion
    - e.g., devaluing forbidden activity or object

IV = severity of threatened punishment
- 1/2 children: threat of mild punishment if they disobeyed and played with toy
- 1/2 children: threat of severe punishment
DV: rating of toy attractiveness
Self-persuasion
- A long-lasting form of attitude change that results from attempts at self-justification

Induce hypocrisy 虛偽 / 偽善誘導
- Make person aware of conflict between
  - Attitudes
  - Behavior
- Hypocrisy creates dissonance
- Reduce dissonance by changing behavior
  - e.g., attitudes about condoms and use of condoms
Students in the hypocrisy condition were subsequently more likely to buy condoms than students in any of other conditions