350 ChapteR 10 Behavior in Social and Cultural Context
but it’s not the greatest crime, either. Now they
take an important exam and freeze on a crucial
question. They have a choice: Read their neigh-
bor’s answers (to get a better grade) or refrain
from doing so (to maintain feelings of integ-
rity). Impulsively, one cheats; the other doesn’t.
What happens now? The answer is illustrated
in Figure 10.2 on the next page. To reduce dis-
sonance, each one will justify their action to
make their beliefs about cheating consonant with
their behavior. The one who refrained will begin
to think that cheating is serious after all, that
it harms everyone, and that cheaters should be
punished—expel them! But the one who cheated
will need to resolve the dissonance between “I am
a fine, honest human being” and “I just cheated.”
He or she could say, “I guess I’m not an honest
person after all,” but it is more likely that the
person will instead decide that cheating isn’t very
serious—after all, everyone does it!
Understanding how cognitive dissonance
works to keep our beliefs and behavior in har-
mony is important because the way we reduce
dissonance can have major, unexpected conse-
quences. The student who cheated “just this once”
will find it easier to cheat again on an assignment,
and then again by turning in a term paper written
by someone else, sliding down the slippery slope
of entrapment. By the time the cheater has slid
to the bottom, it will be extremely difficult to go
back up because that would mean admitting, “I
was wrong; I did a bad thing.” That is how a small
act of dishonesty, corruption, or error can set a
person on a course of action that becomes increas-
ingly self-defeating, cruel, or foolhardy... and dif-
ficult to reverse (Tavris & Aronson, 2007).Attitudes LO 10.8
People hold attitudes about all sorts of things—
politics, food, children, movies, sports heroes, you
name it. An attitude is a belief about people,
groups, ideas, or activities. Some attitudes are
explicit: We are aware of them, they shape our
conscious decisions and actions, and they can be
measured on self-report questionnaires. Others
are implicit: We are unaware of them, they may in-
fluence our behavior in ways we do not recognize,
and they are measured in indirect ways (Stanley,
Phelps, & Banaji, 2008).
Some of your attitudes change when you
have new experiences, and on occasion they
change because you rationally decide you were
wrong about something. But attitudes also change
because of the psychological need for consistency
and the mind’s normal biases in processing infor-
mation. In Chapter 7, we discuss cognitive disso-
nance, the uncomfortable feeling that occurs when
two attitudes, or an attitude and behavior, are in
conflict (are dissonant). To resolve this dissonance,
most people will change one of their attitudes.
Thus, if a politician or celebrity you admire does
something stupid, immoral, or illegal, you can
restore consistency either by lowering your opin-
ion of the person or by deciding that the person’s
behavior wasn’t so stupid or immoral after all
(Aronson, 2012).Watch the Video Thinking Like a Psychologist:
Changing Attitudes and Behaviors at MyPsychLabHere’s an example closer to home: cheating.
Let’s say two students have the same general atti-
tude toward it: It’s not an ideal way to get ahead,cognitive dissonance
A state of tension that
occurs when a person
simultaneously holds two
cognitions that are psy-
chologically inconsistent
or when a person’s belief
is incongruent with his or
her behavior.
Recite & Review
Recite: Attribute your willingness to learn to an internal disposition, and state aloud what you
know about attribution theory, situational versus dispositional attributions, the fundamental attribu-
tion error, three central self-serving biases, and the just-world hypothesis.
Review: Next, reread this section.Now take this Quick Quiz:
- What kind of attribution is being made in each case, situational or dispositional? (a) A man
says, “My wife has sure become a grouchy person.” (b) The same man says, “I’m grouchy
because I had a bad day at the office.” (c) A woman reads about high unemployment in poor
communities and says, “Well, if those people weren’t so lazy, they would find work.” - What principles of attribution theory are suggested by the items in the preceding question?
Answers:
Study and Review at MyPsychLab, the bias to b illustrates the fundamental attribution error; a Item 2. dispositional c. situational b. dispositional1. a., blaming the victim, possibly because of the c choose a flattering or forgiving explanation of our own actions; andjust-world hypothesis.