chapter 6

cognitive dissonance

uncomfortable feeling you get when your thoughts, beliefs, or actions don’t match.

3 ways to reduce dissonance

• change behavior

• justify behavior by changing one of the dissonant cognitions

• justify behavior by adding new cognitions

postdecision dissonance

dissonance aroused after making a decision

justification of effort

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

counterattitudinal behavior

acting in a way that runs counter to ones private beliefs

external justification

explaining a counterattitudinal behavior as due to something about the situation or environment

internal justification

the reduction of dissonance by changing something about oneself

moral dilemmas

when we decide to act contrary to our moral beliefs

dissonance reduction

may behave either more ethically or less ethically in the future

severe punishment

provides STRONG EXTERNAL justification

mild punishment

provides LESS EXTERNAL justification

self affirmation theory

people can reduce threats to their self esteem by affirming themselves in areas unrelated to the source of the threat

self evaluation maintenance theory

idea that we experience dissonance when someone close to us outperforms us in an area that is central to our self esteem

narcissism

the combination of excessive self-love and a lack of empathy towards others

terror management theory

the theory that self-esteem serves as a buffer, protecting people from terrifying thoughts about their own mortality