Test #3 (cognitive dissonance and conformity)

Cognitive Dissonance

A psychological state that arises when people act in a way that threatens their self-esteem.

Postdecision Dissonance

A discomfort experienced after making a decision, due to the uncertainty of having made the right choice.

Justification of Effort

The tendency for individuals to increase their liking for something they have worked hard to attain.

Counterattitudinal Behavior

Acting in a way that contradicts one's private beliefs, often leading to internal justification when external justification is insufficient.

Insufficient Punishment

A dissonance-arousing condition where individuals lack sufficient external justification for resisting a desired activity or object.

Hypocrisy Induction

A method that exposes the difference between people's stated beliefs and their behaviors to encourage change.

Self-Affirmation Theory

A theory that states people can reduce dissonance by affirming their competence in an unrelated area.

Self-Evaluation Maintenance Theory

A theory that describes the experience of dissonance in relationships based on closeness, performance, and self-esteem relevance.

Informational Social Influence

Conformity that occurs when individuals use the behavior of others as information for determining the correct action.

Normative Social Influence

Conformity that occurs in order to be accepted by a group, leading to public compliance with group norms.

Idiosyncrasy Credits

Past conformity that allows an individual to deviate from group norms without facing serious consequences.

Foot-in-the-Door Technique

A persuasion strategy that involves getting a person to agree to a small request before making a larger request.

Door-in-the-Face Technique

A persuasion strategy that involves making a large request that is likely to be refused followed by a smaller, more reasonable request.

Obedience to Authority

A change in behavior in response to requests or demands from an authority figure.

Milgram Study

A famous experiment demonstrating high levels of obedience to authority, where participants administered shocks to another individual.