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Social Psychology II: Justifying
our Actions
Lecture 17
4/12/04
Movie clips
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Raising Arizona
Friends
Why?
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Those who signed the poster AND were
made conscious of how long they
showered
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Took the shortest showers
Hypocrisy: Their attitudes and actions
don’t coincide
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TENSION
Enter theory…
Cognitive Dissonance (Memory aid: “Thoughts out of tune”)
State of tension when an individual holds 2 cognitions
(attitudes, beliefs, opinions) that are inconsistent.

confusion, upset, nervous/anxious
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physiology of our bodies changes: HR, BP, sweaty hands
Cognitive Dissonance
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E.g. Smoking with the Surgeon General
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Cognition A: “I smoke cigarettes”
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Cognition B: “Smoking causes Cancer”
Does this apply to you?
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Have you ever made a difficult decision?
Have you ever had to say something
contrary to your attitudes or opinions?
Have you ever been persuaded to change
an attitude you thought was near & dear to
you?
What to do with an unpleasant feeling
Anyone hungry?

Cognitive discomfort // Physiological discomfort
 Tension
Reduction
Give up smoking?
Not so fast…man is not so rational
 Motivated to BELIEVE we’re right rather than BE right

A Method To Our Madness
Nonsensical behavior
justify our
actions, beliefs and feelings
1. Make thought Consonant

2.
Make light of evidence

3.
I do not smoke
Inconclusive evidence
Add consonant Cognitions
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May lead a shorter life, but more enjoyable one
Reducing Dissonance after binging
The End of the World…
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On a particular date… redemption
What happens upon failure of prophecy?
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Disbanding in disillusion?
Strengthening of conviction
Mrs. Keech & Seekers of Truth
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Spiritual messages from the “Guardians”
“automatic writing” = belief system
Great impending disaster!

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A flood would engulf the world
But, all who believed…
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Remove all metal, memorize
passwords:
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Spacemen would arrive
“I left my hat at home”; “I am my own
porter”
Rid personal belongings, quit jobs
Note: 2 significant observations
1.
HIGH Commitment
Despite opposition of friends, family…
2.
Inaction
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No recruitment efforts
Media turned away
Proceedings burned
Passwords & secret signs
The eve of the flood

Spaceship to arrive at midnight…
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“The last 10 minutes…”
Proselytizing the Future
1.
2.
“The little group, sitting alone all night
long, had spread so much light that God
had saved the world from destruction”
Contact the press!

Secrecy and publicity policies gone awry
When prophecy fails…

When truth is undercut by physical proof,
there’s only one way out:
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SOCIAL PROOF

The greater the number of people who find an
idea correct, the more an individual will perceive
the idea to be correct.
Lab Evidence
Experiment on “performance”

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1
Wooden board w/ 48
square pegs
Turn each:
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1/4in
1/4in
1/4in
1/4in
to
to
to
to
L
R
L
R
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
2
30 minutes later… a
new board
12 spools of thread


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Take all 12 off
Put them back on
Take them off
Put back on
More than meets the eye…
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You were in control group!
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HELP! “confederate” is not here!!!
Could you do it, please?
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Others being told experiment is “fun and exciting”
1$ vs. 20$
Know experiment was dull, but will you rave
about it?
How do you feel about the task?
Attitude Change
Do Big rewards produce Big change?

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P’s in “no lie”
admitted task was
boring
For $20, P’s justified
lie- said it was pretty
boring too
But, for $1, P’s
change attitude to
reduce dissonance
25
20
15
10
5
0
No lie
$20 lie
$1 lie
Shocking Results
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Common sense on it’s head
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Motivated to reduce tension, we alter our attitudes
to justify our suffering

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Wasted effort, difficult decisions, attitude discrepant
behavior
How much do you like school now?
Condom Study (Aronson, 1994)
Young people should wear condoms during sex
A. Compose arguments
B. AND recite in front of video camera
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Audience = high school students
½ each condition made mindful
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List conditions: difficult, awkward, or impossible
Hypocrisy condition: hi commitment & mindful
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report increase in usage & buy more condoms
Justifying Effort:
Coming to Like What We Suffer For
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Aronson & Mills’ (1959) group discussions
on sex… “embarrassment test”
“Severe initiation” rated the boring
discussion more favorable than mild & no
initiation groups
The more we *** for something, the more
we will come to like it.
Post-decision change: to reduce dissonance

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Brehm, 1956: Female Subjects
Rate appliances: toaster, coffee maker,
radio, stopwatch, etc. on desirability
Choose one (btw.):
a.
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Re-rate: Chosen product…
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equally rated products
previously equal!
Helps convince what did was right
Changing behavior: changes
thoughts and feelings
How else are attitudes changed?
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Cognitive Dissonance
Persuasion
Cialdini’s 6 Principles of Persuasion
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Reciprocation
Commitment/Consistency
Authority
Social validation
Scarcity
Liking/Friendship
Reciprocation
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Regan, 1971: “Art appreciation”
“Joe”
2 minute break
Experiment Done…
$.25 Raffle tickets
Implications: not so free samples
Likeable
Not Likeable
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No Coke
1.0
0.75
Coke
2.0
1.5
Mints lead to higher tips…
Flowers, books, pens lead to higher donations…
Supermarket trials
Door in the Face
Real request preceded by rejection of larger one
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Boy Scout
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Concession to reciprocate
BUT, 1st set of demands…
$5 raffle ticket
$1 candy bar
Spend 2 hrs/wk w/ juvenile delinquents?
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Chaperone a 1-day trip
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triple compliance
Cialdini’s 6 Principles of influence
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Reciprocation
Commitment/Consistency
Authority
Social validation
Scarcity
Liking/Friendship
Commitment & Consistency:
Foot in the door
Real request prefaced by getting compliance on
smaller request

Drive Carefully Billboard
17% naturally
 If 2 weeks prior… 76%
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Committing to a petition: new view of self as
publicly spirited
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CONSISTENCY
Low-balling
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Car salesman
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Get agreement on original request w/ advantage
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Allows time to ‘get feel for car’ & ‘show it around’
Reports ‘errors in calculation’
Personal commitment lasts w/ range of new reasons
remove inducement, let decision “stand on newly
created legs”
Iowa energy conservation
Iowa Energy Conservation
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Contacted by interview
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Agreeing residents-- in newspaper as public
spirited, fuel-conserving citizens
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Conservation tips: agreement, but no change
Saved 422 cubic ft. nat gas each
12.2% in first month
NO LONGER publishing names
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15.5% for rest of winter
Publicity
Low
energy bill
Conservation
1.
2.
Low energy bill
Need to reduce foreign
oil-dependency
New Self-image
Enhanced
self-esteem
Need to reduce foreign
oil-dependency
Publicity
New Self-image
Enhanced
self-esteem
3.
Conservation
Conservation
Questions?
Do you understand everything?