The Need to Justify our Actions

1
The Need to Justify our Actions

• Chapter 6
• Cognitive Dissonance
• Insufficient Justification

2
The theory of Cognitive Dissonance

• A feeling of discomfort caused by holding 2 or
  more inconsistent cognitions
• Later definition being caused by performing an
  action that is discrepant from ones customary,
  typically positive self-conception

3
Before making a Decision

• We may consider both sides and have difficulty
  making it
• After making it, we remember the good things
  about the decision
• Post decision dissonance

4
Lowballing

• Inducements to buy a product at a low cost or w/
  additional things thrown in and then raising the
  price
• Based on the illusion of irrevocability

5
Behaving Immorally

• Cheating on exams you next try to minimize the
  negative aspects of your cheating.
• everybody does it, its victimless, its not
  really that bad

6
Later effects on values

• If you cheated, youve had an actual change in
  your value system
• You get harder on the issue, or softer
• Note the initial attitude might have been the
  same

7
Justifying your Effort

• Justification of effort people increase their
  liking for things that they worked hard to
  attain.
• The harder it is to get in the club, the better
  it is (even when its not)

8
External Justification

• At times we dont experience dissonance
• White liesif it is more important to preserve
  social ties than tell the truth, we do the latter

9
Internal Justification

• If you say you like something aloud, gradually
  you move in that direction
• Counterattitudinal adocacy-state an opinion
  counter to your own

10
Insufficient Punishment

• Harsh punishments work primarily to reinforce not
  getting caught
• Insufficient pun lack sufficient external
  justification for resisting desires, usually
  resulting in devaluing the forbidden activity or
  object

11
Temptations

• Those who resist, overcome a temptation (to
  cheat, drink, whatever) wind up having a
  longer-lasting attitude change
• Lectures? Fergetit.
• Self-persuasion

12
Good Deeds Bad Deeds

• We do not love people so much for the good they
  have done us as for the good we have done them.
• - Leo Tolstoy

13
Ideal vs reality

• Self-discrepancy theory-when our actual self
  differs from the idealized self
• Tend to have sadness, dejection, disatisfaction,
  and depression-like emotions

14
Self-evaluation maintenance theory

• Ones self-concept can be threatened by another
  individuals behavior
• Level of the threat is based on the closeness of
  the other individual and the personal relevance
  of the behavior

15
The Exceptions to all this

• People w/ low self-esteem or depressed people
• Less self-justifying, less likely to derogate
  victims
• Acting immorally seems consistent w/ their
  self-concepts

16
Self-verification theory

• People who think little of themselves may be
  confused by information that doesnt match what
  they think
• People seek info that confirms what they already
  believe about themselves

17
Reaction Paper

• Describe being lowballed or joined a group that
  had an intense initiation, or a time you self
  handicapped yourself.
• Or any of the concepts in this section.
• Describe what happened, how you reacted, what you
  thought of it at the time, and now. Be sure to
  describe the concept you are covering.
• You may also use another as an example, if you
  like.