Psych #1

Self-Justification

The Social Animal, Chapter 3

What is Self-Justification?
  • Self-justification: The tendency to justify one’s feelings or actions in order to maintain one’s self-esteem.
The Need for Self-Justification

  • Reasons for self-justification:

    • To present oneself in a positive light.
    • Psychological mechanisms that individuals leverage to maintain a favorable self-image.

  • Jones & Pittman (1982):

    • Identification of recognizable self-presentation strategies:
    • Ingratiation: Presenting oneself as likable.
    • Intimidation: Presenting oneself as threatening.
    • Self-promotion: Presenting oneself as impressive.
    • Exemplification: Presenting oneself as noble.
    • Supplication: Presenting oneself as weak.
Self-Presentation Strategies

  • Ingratiation:

    • Attempt to be liked and accepted.
    • Quote from speaker: "I LIKE TO BE LIKED. I ENJOY BEING LIKED. I HAVE TO BE LIKED BUT IT'S NOT LIKE THIS, COMPULSIVE, NEED, TO BE LIKED. LIKE MY NEED TO BE PRAISED."

  • Intimidation:

    • Strategy of presenting oneself in a way that instills fear or compliance in others.

  • Self-Promotion:

    • Act of highlighting one’s successes or skills to others to gain admiration.
    • Quote from speaker: "I AM GREAT."

  • Exemplification:

    • Strategy of portraying oneself as morally superior or altruistic.

  • Supplication:

    • Representing oneself as innocent or needing help, often to elicit compassion or assistance from others.
Understanding Self-Justification

  • When is self-justification easy?:

    • Self-justification is straightforward when the reasons for one’s feelings are clear.

  • When is it difficult?:

    • When reasons are less clear, individuals tend to create their explanations to justify feelings.

  • Prasad (1950):

    • Example of self-justification in natural disasters:
    • Individuals directly experiencing natural disasters generate comforting rumors.
    • People who only feel tremors, but do not experience disasters, create rumors of impending doom.
Cognitive Dissonance
  • Cognitive Dissonance:
    • Defined as a state of tension that arises when an individual simultaneously holds two cognitions that are psychologically inconsistent.
    • Cognitions include: Attitudes, Ideas, Beliefs, Opinions.
    • Humans have an intrinsic motivation to reduce cognitive dissonance by adjusting their beliefs or attitudes.
Dissonance and Extreme Behavior
  • Examples of Cognitive Dissonance:
    • Heavens Gate cult members:
    • Belief in a spaceship following the Hale-Bopp comet contrasted with the reality of not observing any spaceship through a telescope.
    • Justification given: "The telescope is defective."
    • QAnon conspiracy theories:
    • Predicted event regarding Pope Francis did not occur, yet believers justified it as necessary misinformation to mislead nonbelievers.
Insufficient Justification Causes Dissonance
  • Two types of justification for dissonance:
    1. External Justification:
    • Justification governed by situational factors.
    • Example: Telling a white lie.
    1. Internal Justification:
    • Change in personal attitude to align with behaviors when external justification is lacking.
    • Example: Study by Festinger & Carlsmith (1959).
Festinger & Carlsmith (1959) Study

  • Study design: Participants were paid varying amounts to lie about a task.

    • Independent Variable: Amount of money offered.
    • Control Group: Participants not asked to provide false information.
    • Conditions:
    • $1 condition: Participants lied for $1, claiming the task was enjoyable.
    • $20 condition: Participants lied for $20 under the same conditions.
    • Dependent Variable: Enjoyment reported for the task.

  • Results: Participants who were underpaid ($1) adjusted their attitude to believe their lie, demonstrating the impact of insufficient justification on belief systems.

Dissonance Beyond Lying

  • Zimbardo (1969): Importance of dissonance in physiological experiences:

    • Participants receiving minor external justification for electric shocks reported feeling less pain than those who had adequate justification.
    • This phenomenon was observed in both self-reports and physiological measures (GSR).

  • Brehm (1962):

    • High dissonance participants reported decreased hunger/thirst compared to low dissonance participants.
    • Both groups consumed less food overall under the same conditions, suggesting dissonance influences physiological states.
External Justifications
  • Examples of external justifications:
    • Situations beyond one’s control.
    • Substantial rewards for engagement in activities.
    • Influence of close relationships on the perception of experiences, such as when peer pressure alters enjoyment levels.
Cognitive Dissonance and Insufficient Punishment

  • Aronson & Carlsmith (1963):

    • Research on the effectiveness of punishment types:
    • Children threatened with mild punishment for undesirable behavior reported disliking the toy more than those threatened with severe punishment.

  • Freedman (1965):

    • Longitudinal study indicating similar findings:
    • Children under mild threat continued to play with the toy less even nine weeks after the initial threat compared to those under severe threats.
Dissonance and Overjustification
  • Overjustification effect:
    • Defined as the phenomenon where providing rewards for activities that an individual already enjoys can lead to a decrease in intrinsic motivation for that activity.
  • This finding raises ethical considerations regarding manipulation through insufficient justification and overjustification, particularly in educational and motivational contexts.
Class Summary
  • Key Takeaways:
    • The fundamental human desire is to perceive and present oneself positively.
    • Cognitive dissonance arises from insufficient or excessive external justification for feelings or actions.
    • Dissonance can be resolved through adaptive changes in personal attitudes, beliefs, ideas, or opinions accordingly.