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PYSC 3430 Chapter 6
Cognitive Dissonance
Term | Definition |
---|---|
Cognitive Dissonance | The discomfort that people feel when two cognitions (beliefs, attitudes) conflict, or when they behave in ways that are inconsistent with their conception of themselves |
Postdecision Dissonance | Dissonance aroused after making a decision, typically reduced by enhancing the attractiveness of the chosen alternative and devaluating the rejected alternatives |
Lowballing | an unscrupulous strategy whereby a salesperson induces a customer to agree to purchase a product at a low cost, subsequently claims it was an error, and then raises the price; frequently, the customer will agree to make the purchase at the inflated price |
Justification of Effort | the tendency for individuals to increase their liking for something they have worked hard to attain |
External justification | a reason or an explanation for dissonant personal behavior that resides outside the individual (ex: to receive a large reward or avoid a severe punishment) |
Internal justification | the reduction of dissonance by changing something about oneself (ex: one's behavior or attitude) |
Counter-attitudinal Behavior | acting in a way that runs counter to one's private belief or attitude |
Insufficient Punishment | the dissonance aroused when individuals lack sufficient external justification for having resisted a desired activity or object, usually resulting in individuals devaluing the forbidden activity or object |
Hypocrisy induction | The arousal of dissonance by having individuals make statements that run counter to their behaviors, and then reminding them of the inconsistency between what they advocated and their behavior; leads individuals to more responsible behavior. |
Self-affirmation Theory | the idea that people can reduce threats to their self-esteem by affirming themselves in areas unrelated to the source of the threat |
Self-Evaluation Maintenance Theory | People experience dissonance when someone close outperforms in an area that's central to our self-esteem. Dissonance can be reduced by becoming less close to them, changing our behavior so we outperform them, or deciding the area is not important to us. |
Narcissim | the combination of excessive self-love and a lack of empathy toward others |
terror management theory | the theory that holds that self-esteem serves as a buffer, protecting people from terrifying thoughts about their own mortality |
Dissonance theory | inconsistency among attitudes propels people in the direction of attitude change |
Justification of Kindness | if we have done someone a personal favor, we are likely to feel more positively toward that person than if we don't do the favor or do the favor because of an impersonal request |