Which theory assumes that to reduce discomfort we justify our actions to ourselves?

Get help with access

Institutional access

Access to content on Oxford Academic is often provided through institutional subscriptions and purchases. If you are a member of an institution with an active account, you may be able to access content in one of the following ways:

IP based access

Typically, access is provided across an institutional network to a range of IP addresses. This authentication occurs automatically, and it is not possible to sign out of an IP authenticated account.

Sign in through your institution

Choose this option to get remote access when outside your institution. Shibboleth / Open Athens technology is used to provide single sign-on between your institution’s website and Oxford Academic.

  1. Click Sign in through your institution.
  2. Select your institution from the list provided, which will take you to your institution's website to sign in.
  3. When on the institution site, please use the credentials provided by your institution. Do not use an Oxford Academic personal account.
  4. Following successful sign in, you will be returned to Oxford Academic.

If your institution is not listed or you cannot sign in to your institution’s website, please contact your librarian or administrator.

Sign in with a library card

Enter your library card number to sign in. If you cannot sign in, please contact your librarian.

Society Members

Society member access to a journal is achieved in one of the following ways:

Sign in through society site

Many societies offer single sign-on between the society website and Oxford Academic. If you see ‘Sign in through society site’ in the sign in pane within a journal:

  1. Click Sign in through society site.
  2. When on the society site, please use the credentials provided by that society. Do not use an Oxford Academic personal account.
  3. Following successful sign in, you will be returned to Oxford Academic.

If you do not have a society account or have forgotten your username or password, please contact your society.

Sign in using a personal account

Some societies use Oxford Academic personal accounts to provide access to their members. See below.

Personal account

A personal account can be used to get email alerts, save searches, purchase content, and activate subscriptions.

Some societies use Oxford Academic personal accounts to provide access to their members.

Viewing your signed in accounts

Click the account icon in the top right to:

  • View your signed in personal account and access account management features.
  • View the institutional accounts that are providing access.

Signed in but can't access content

Oxford Academic is home to a wide variety of products. The institutional subscription may not cover the content that you are trying to access. If you believe you should have access to that content, please contact your librarian.

Institutional account management

For librarians and administrators, your personal account also provides access to institutional account management. Here you will find options to view and activate subscriptions, manage institutional settings and access options, access usage statistics, and more.

________: A favourable or unfavourable evaluative reaction towards something or someone

Social psychologists measure ___________ attitudes

_____________ _____________ test: uses reaction times to measure how quickly people associate concepts

Implicit association test

Principle of _____________ : the effects of an attitude become more apparent when we look at a person's aggregate or average behaviour than when we consider isolated acts

attitude predicts behaviour better when the _______ is potent

Making people ____-_______ promotes consistency between words and deeds

Our social ____ can affect our attitudes and behaviours

The tendency for people who have first agreed to a small request to comply later with a larger request is known as what?

The foot in the door phenomenon

Actions and ___________ feed each other, even to the point of moral numbness

Moral actions affect moral ____________

What three theories attempt to explain how behaviour can affect attitudes:
- ___-_________ theory
- C__________ __________ theory
- S____ __________ theory

Self-presentation theory; cognitive dissonance theory; self-perception theory

____-________ theory assumes that for strategic reasons we express attitudes that make us appear consistent

_____________ ______________ theory assumes that to reduce discomfort, we justify our actions to ourselves

_______-_____________ theory assumes that our actions are self-revealing

Insufficient ___________: reduction of dissonance by internally justifying one's behaviour when external justification is insufficient

____-_________ theory: The theory that when we are unsure of our attitudes, we infer them much as would someone observing us, by looking at our behaviour and the circumstances under which it occurs

_________________ effect: The result of bribing people to do what they already like doing; they may then see their actions as externally controlled rather than intrinsically appealing

over justification effect

Do anticipated or unanticipated rewards decrease intrinsic interest in a task?

Cognitive dissonance theory explains attitude ________; while self-perception theory explains attitude __________

______________; The process by which a message induces change in beliefs, attitudes and behaviours

How many pathways to persuasion are there?

Two; the central route and the peripheral route

The __________ route of persuasion occurs when interested when focus on the arguments and response with favourable thoughts

The ____________ route to persuasion occurs when people are included by incidental cues, such as a speaker's attractiveness

_________ route persuasion can lead to more enduring change than does the ___________ route

Are attitudes relatively permanent?

Are attitudes relatively functional and generalisable?

______ ____________ effect: number of times exposed to an object influences evaluation of object

Does the mere exposure effect occur if the original stimulus is disliked?

No, it needs to be rewarding

Can classical conditioning lead to attitude formation?

_____-__________: we infer our own attitudes from our freely chosen behaviours

____-______ theory occurs when attitudes are weak, newly formed, and ambiguous

A ________ scale is a good self-report measure of attitudes

__________ Association Test: Reaction time to test measure of automatic attitudes

Implicit Association Test

The more specific the _________ the better chance of a subsequent behaviour

Is self-awareness a determinant of attitude - behaviour relationship?

________ justification: Inconsistency experience when a large effort is made to achieve a modest goal

Induced _____________: inconsistency experienced when a person is persuaded to behave in a way contrary to their attitude

Can changing our perception of a behaviour reduce dissonance?

Three variables that affect Persuasion:
1 : Communicator or _________ (who)
2 Communication or ___________ (what)
3: _______________ ( to whom )

source; message; audience

Presenting the communication as an e________, can lead to better persuasion

____________ processing: process message more carefully, pay more attention

____________ processing - pay less attention, use cognitive shortcuts

___________ - negative reaction to efforts of others to limit our personal freedom

The effects of source credibility diminish after a ______ or so

__________ effect: A delayed impact of a message that occurs when an initially discounted message becomes effective, as we remember the message but forget the reason for discounting it

Speech _____ affects a speaker's apparent trustworthiness and subsequent persuasive ability

People respond better to a message that comes from someone in their _____

Fear-framed messages work better when trying to prevent a _____ outcome that when trying to promote a ____ outcome

Recency effects are less common that _________ effects

Compliance breeds _________ in cults

Successful cults usually have a __________ leader

Which of the following theories assumes that to reduce discomfort we justify our actions to ourselves quizlet?

Which of the following theories assumes that to reduce discomfort we justify our actions to ourselves? cognitive dissonance theory. Diener and Wallbom (1976) found that when research participants were instructed to stop working on a problem after a bell sounded, 71% continued working when left alone.

Is the theory that we act to reduce the discomfort?

Cognitive dissonance theory predicts that we will act to reduce the discomfort we feel when our actions and attitudes clash. The theory explains why a. people who act against their attitudes tend to change their attitudes.

Which theory assumes that we observe our actions?

In everyday life, people observe other people's actions and behaviors and make inferences about others' attitudes based on what they observe. When people see how another person acts in a particular situation, they often attribute the behavior to the person's traits and attitudes.

What is the theory of cognitive dissonance?

Cognitive dissonance theory postulates that an underlying psychological tension is created when an individual's behavior is inconsistent with his or her thoughts and beliefs. This underlying tension then motivates an individual to make an attitude change that would produce consistency between thoughts and behaviors.