Aronson Social Psychology, 5/e Copyright © 2005 by Prentice-Hall, Inc. Chapter 6 The Need to Justify Our Actions

Aronson Social Psychology, 5/e Copyright © 2005 by Prentice-Hall, Inc. PowerPoint Presentation Prepared By Fred W. Whitford Montana State University

Aronson Social Psychology, 5/e Copyright © 2005 by Prentice-Hall, Inc. Chapter Outline I. Maintaining a Stable, Positive Self-Image

Aronson Social Psychology, 5/e Copyright © 2005 by Prentice-Hall, Inc. Maintaining a Stable, Positive Self- Image One of the most powerful determinants of human behavior is the need to preserve a stable, positive self-concept.

Aronson Social Psychology, 5/e Copyright © 2005 by Prentice-Hall, Inc. Maintaining a Stable, Positive Self- Image The Theory of Cognitive Dissonance Leon Festinger originated the concept of cognitive dissonance, defining it as inconsistency between two thoughts. Cognitive dissonance may arise when a person engages in an act that is discrepant from one’s self-concept.

Aronson Social Psychology, 5/e Copyright © 2005 by Prentice-Hall, Inc. Maintaining a Stable, Positive Self- Image The Theory of Cognitive Dissonance Cognitive dissonance is the feeling of discomfort caused by information that is discrepant from your customary, typically positive, self-concept. Experiencing dissonance motivates an attempt to reduce it.

Aronson Social Psychology, 5/e Copyright © 2005 by Prentice-Hall, Inc. Maintaining a Stable, Positive Self-Image The Theory of Cognitive Dissonance

Aronson Social Psychology, 5/e Copyright © 2005 by Prentice-Hall, Inc. Maintaining a Stable, Positive Self- Image Rational Behavior Versus Rationalizing Behavior The need to reduce dissonance and maintain self-esteem produces thinking that is rationalizing rather than rational.

Aronson Social Psychology, 5/e Copyright © 2005 by Prentice-Hall, Inc. Maintaining a Stable, Positive Self-Image Decisions, Decisions, Decisions

Aronson Social Psychology, 5/e Copyright © 2005 by Prentice-Hall, Inc. Maintaining a Stable, Positive Self- Image Decisions, Decisions, Decisions Postdecision dissonance is aroused after we make any important decision; it is reduced by enhancing the attractiveness of the chosen alternative and devaluating the rejected alternative.

Aronson Social Psychology, 5/e Copyright © 2005 by Prentice-Hall, Inc. Maintaining a Stable, Positive Self- Image Decisions, Decisions, Decisions One way to engage in postdecision dissonance reduction is to proselytize, recommending your decision/behavior to others.

Aronson Social Psychology, 5/e Copyright © 2005 by Prentice-Hall, Inc. Maintaining a Stable, Positive Self- Image Decisions, Decisions, Decisions The more permanent a decision, the greater the need to reduce dissonance after making it. Feeling that one’s decision is irrevocable may lead to falling prey to a sales technique called lowballing. Lowballing makes the customer feel compelled to pay a higher price for an item after first agreeing to pay a much lower price.

Aronson Social Psychology, 5/e Copyright © 2005 by Prentice-Hall, Inc. Maintaining a Stable, Positive Self- Image Decisions, Decisions, Decisions Dissonance reduction following a difficult moral decision can cause people to behave either more or less ethically in the future, because people’s attitudes will polarize in the attempt to justify the ethical choice they made.

Aronson Social Psychology, 5/e Copyright © 2005 by Prentice-Hall, Inc. Maintaining a Stable, Positive Self- Image Justify Your Effort What happens when a person voluntarily works hard and the goal doesn’t seem worth it after all? People are unlikely to change their self-concept to believe they were unskilled or foolish; instead they change their attitude towards the goal and see it positively. This is called the justification of effort.

Aronson Social Psychology, 5/e Copyright © 2005 by Prentice-Hall, Inc. Maintaining a Stable, Positive Self- Image Justify Your Effort

Aronson Social Psychology, 5/e Copyright © 2005 by Prentice-Hall, Inc. Maintaining a Stable, Positive Self- Image The Psychology of Insufficient Justification When people attempt to reduce their dissonance by changing something about themselves, for example their attitudes, they are using internal justification. When people attempt to explain their dissonant behaviors by focusing on reasons that reside outside of themselves, for example being paid a large sum of money, they are using external justification.

Aronson Social Psychology, 5/e Copyright © 2005 by Prentice-Hall, Inc. Maintaining a Stable, Positive Self- Image The Psychology of Insufficient Justification Counterattitudinal advocacy is the process by which people are induced to state publicly an attitude that runs counter to their own attitude. If there is no external justification for counterattitudinal advocacy, a person’s attitude may change in accordance with the view that was expressed publicly.

Aronson Social Psychology, 5/e Copyright © 2005 by Prentice-Hall, Inc. Maintaining a Stable, Positive Self- Image Counterattitudinal Advocacy, Race Relations, and Preventing AIDS Harsh punishments teach us to try to avoid getting caught, and thus require constant vigilance to be effective. In contrast, insufficient punishment induces dissonance about why one is not engaging in the behavior, and inspires dissonance reduction by devaluing the forbidden activity or object.

Aronson Social Psychology, 5/e Copyright © 2005 by Prentice-Hall, Inc. Maintaining a Stable, Positive Self- Image Counterattitudinal Advocacy, Race Relations, and Preventing AIDS When attitude change occurs due to insufficient reward or punishment, it becomes very enduring. Both insufficient punishment and insufficient justification lead to self-persuasion, a long-term form of attitude change that results from attempts at self-justification.

Aronson Social Psychology, 5/e Copyright © 2005 by Prentice-Hall, Inc. Maintaining a Stable, Positive Self-Image Counterattitudinal Advocacy, Race Relations, and Preventing AIDS

Aronson Social Psychology, 5/e Copyright © 2005 by Prentice-Hall, Inc. Maintaining a Stable, Positive Self- Image Counterattitudinal Advocacy, Race Relations, and Preventing AIDS

Aronson Social Psychology, 5/e Copyright © 2005 by Prentice-Hall, Inc. Maintaining a Stable, Positive Self- Image Counterattitudinal Advocacy, Race Relations, and Preventing AIDS Insufficient external justification is justification that is sufficient to produce the behavior, but insufficient for people to believe that they were “forced” through external justifications to do it.

Aronson Social Psychology, 5/e Copyright © 2005 by Prentice-Hall, Inc. Maintaining a Stable, Positive Self- Image Good and Bad Deeds Dissonance theory and folk wisdom suggest that we like people not for the favors they have done us but for the favors we have done for them.

Aronson Social Psychology, 5/e Copyright © 2005 by Prentice-Hall, Inc. Maintaining a Stable, Positive Self- Image Good and Bad Deeds If we harm someone, this induces dissonance between our actions and our self-concepts as decent people; to resolve this dissonance, we may derogate or dehumanize our victims.

Aronson Social Psychology, 5/e Copyright © 2005 by Prentice-Hall, Inc. Maintaining a Stable, Positive Self- Image Good and Bad Deeds We are more likely to derogate people we have harmed if they are innocent victims. Derogating victims by dehumanizing them may lead to a continuation or escalation of violence against them.

Aronson Social Psychology, 5/e Copyright © 2005 by Prentice-Hall, Inc. Chapter Outline II. Variations on the Theme of Self-Justification

Aronson Social Psychology, 5/e Copyright © 2005 by Prentice-Hall, Inc. Variations on the Theme of Self- Justification The basic premise of cognitive dissonance theory is that people have a fundamental need to maintain a stable and positive sense of self.

Aronson Social Psychology, 5/e Copyright © 2005 by Prentice-Hall, Inc. Variations on the Theme of Self- Justification Self-Discrepancy Theory Self-discrepancy theory holds that people are motivated to maintain a sense of consistency among their beliefs and perceptions of themselves, and become distressed when there is a discrepancy between the “actual self” and an “ideal” or “ought” self.

Aronson Social Psychology, 5/e Copyright © 2005 by Prentice-Hall, Inc. Variations on the Theme of Self- Justification Maintaining our Self-Image Self-evaluation maintenance theory holds that one’s self-concept can be threatened by another individual’s behavior, and that the level of threat is determined by both the closeness of the other individual and the personal relevance of the behavior.

Aronson Social Psychology, 5/e Copyright © 2005 by Prentice-Hall, Inc. Variations on the Theme of Self- Justification Maintaining our Self-Image Dissonance arising when a friend outperforms oneself in a cherished domain can be resolved by (1) distancing oneself from the friend; (2) changing how relevant the domain is to one’s self-definition; or (3) improving one’s performance to outshine the friend’s performance.

Aronson Social Psychology, 5/e Copyright © 2005 by Prentice-Hall, Inc. Variations on the Theme of Self- Justification Self-Affirmation Theory Self-affirmation theory suggests that people will reduce the impact of a dissonance arousing threat to their self- concept by focusing on and affirming their competence on some dimension unrelated to the threat.

Aronson Social Psychology, 5/e Copyright © 2005 by Prentice-Hall, Inc. Chapter Outline III. Why Would Anyone Want to Maintain a Poor Self-Image?

Aronson Social Psychology, 5/e Copyright © 2005 by Prentice-Hall, Inc. Why Would Anyone Want to Maintain a Poor Self-Image? Confirming Our Self-Concept or Enhancing It? Self-verification theory is a theory suggesting that people have a need to seek confirmation of their self-concept, whether the self-concept is positive or negative.

Aronson Social Psychology, 5/e Copyright © 2005 by Prentice-Hall, Inc. Chapter Outline IV. Some Final Thoughts on Dissonance: Learning from our Mistakes

Aronson Social Psychology, 5/e Copyright © 2005 by Prentice-Hall, Inc. Some Final Thoughts on Dissonance The rationalization trap is the potential for dissonance reduction to produce a succession of self- justifications that can ultimately result in a chain of unintelligent or immoral actions.

Aronson Social Psychology, 5/e Copyright © 2005 by Prentice-Hall, Inc. Chapter Outline V. Heaven’s Gate Revisited

Aronson Social Psychology, 5/e Copyright © 2005 by Prentice-Hall, Inc. Heaven’s Gate Revisited Making an important decision and investing heavily in that decision can evoke a high degree of cognitive dissonance and a strong need to justify behavior. One of the most powerful forces influencing the members of the Heaven’s Gate cult was the great amount of cognitive dissonance they experienced.

Aronson Social Psychology, 5/e Copyright © 2005 by Prentice-Hall, Inc. Study Questions What are conditions that may result in cognitive dissonance? Why does cognitive dissonance occur?

Aronson Social Psychology, 5/e Copyright © 2005 by Prentice-Hall, Inc. Study Questions What is the relationship between making important decisions and experiencing dissonance? What happens to attitudes toward the chosen alternative and the one that is not chosen?

Aronson Social Psychology, 5/e Copyright © 2005 by Prentice-Hall, Inc. Study Questions Why is lowballing an effective persuasion technique? How does dissonance reduction after a moral decision affect people’s tendency to behave ethically or unethically in the future?

Aronson Social Psychology, 5/e Copyright © 2005 by Prentice-Hall, Inc. Study Questions What is the relationship between the justification of effort and dissonance reduction?

Aronson Social Psychology, 5/e Copyright © 2005 by Prentice-Hall, Inc. Study Questions Why can insufficient justification result in dissonance? What are the consequences of reducing dissonance through external justification compared to internal justification?

Aronson Social Psychology, 5/e Copyright © 2005 by Prentice-Hall, Inc. Study Questions What are the effects of insufficient punishment on the judgments of an object or entity? What are the effects of mild versus severe threats on the level of dissonance experienced?

Aronson Social Psychology, 5/e Copyright © 2005 by Prentice-Hall, Inc. Study Questions Why is self-persuasion a long- lasting form of attitudinal change?

Aronson Social Psychology, 5/e Copyright © 2005 by Prentice-Hall, Inc. Study Questions What are the consequences of doing something unpleasant for a friend compared to doing something unpleasant for someone who is disliked? What are the effects of doing a favor for someone on how much this person is liked?

Aronson Social Psychology, 5/e Copyright © 2005 by Prentice-Hall, Inc. Study Questions What does self-discrepancy theory explain? How is dissonance reduced according to this theory?

Aronson Social Psychology, 5/e Copyright © 2005 by Prentice-Hall, Inc. Study Questions What is self-completion theory? How is dissonance reduced according to this theory?

Aronson Social Psychology, 5/e Copyright © 2005 by Prentice-Hall, Inc. Study Questions What is self-evaluation maintenance theory? What are two necessary factors for the occurrence of dissonance according to this theory? How does this theory explain why people may help strangers more than they help their friends?

Aronson Social Psychology, 5/e Copyright © 2005 by Prentice-Hall, Inc. Study Questions What causes dissonance according to self-affirmation theory? How is dissonance reduced according to this theory?

Aronson Social Psychology, 5/e Copyright © 2005 by Prentice-Hall, Inc. Study Questions When do people prefer self- verification more than self- enhancement?

Aronson Social Psychology, 5/e Copyright © 2005 by Prentice-Hall, Inc. Study Questions What is a rationalization trap and how does one develop? How can this trap be avoided? What can other cultures teach us about avoiding this trap?