Author Question: Describe three factors that affect the desire for social approval. Give an example of how these ... (Read 160 times)

kodithompson · **on:** Jun 22, 2018

Describe three factors that affect the desire for social approval. Give an example of how these factors might lead a person to change an important attitude, belief, or behavior.

What will be an ideal response?

Question 2

Describe the Festinger & Carlsmith (1959) study. Be sure to discuss which individuals were more likely to experience dissonance and change their attitudes. What was the more general lesson learned about counterattitudinal behavior?

What will be an ideal response?

T4T · **Reply #1 on:** Jun 22, 2018

Answer to Question 1

Answer: Factors are: Self-monitoring: the tendency to be chronically concerned with one's public image and to adjust one's actions to fit the needs of the current situation (from Chapter 4). People high on this dimension have greater need for social approval.

Answer to Question 2

Answer: A complete answer would mention the boring task; payment of 1 or 20 to the two groups; the request to lie to a waiting participant; that persons in both groups lied; that the 1 group experienced dissonance because they had insufficient justification to lie, and this was inconsistent with their view of themselves as honest people; that the 20 group did not experience dissonance because of the external justification and did not adjust their attitudes. The more general principle is that counterattitudinal behavior will produce significant dissonance only if there is insufficient justification for engaging in the behavior.