Attitudes and Cognitive Dissonance

Summary

This script delves into the psychology of attitudes, exploring their impact on behavior. It explains both explicit and implicit attitudes and how they can sometimes conflict with actions, leading to cognitive dissonance. The concept is illustrated through examples, including a cult's reaction to a failed prophecy, showing how deeply invested individuals justify their beliefs rather than change them. The script challenges viewers to consider when to stand by their attitudes and when to reassess them for personal growth.

Takeaways

• 🚬 Smoking serves as an example of a complex issue where attitudes may not align with behavior.
• 🧠 An attitude in psychology is a learned, stable, and lasting evaluation that can influence behavior.
• 🤔 Both explicit (conscious) and implicit (unconscious) attitudes affect our behavior.
• 🤷‍♂️ Attitudes aren't inherently bad; they help us make decisions and process information more efficiently.
• 🏋️‍♀️ Positive attitudes like valuing exercise can guide behavior towards healthier living.
• 🤝 Attitude specificity refers to how easily an attitude can be expressed in a supportive environment.
• 🍩 Cognitive dissonance is the discomfort felt when attitudes and behavior are inconsistent.
• 🤖 Humans uniquely experience cognitive dissonance, unlike robots that follow programming.
• 📚 Festinger's theory of cognitive dissonance was observed in a cult expecting a flood that never came.
• 🔄 People may change their attitudes or justify their behavior to resolve cognitive dissonance.
• 💡 The level of investment in a belief can determine whether someone changes their attitude or justifies their actions.

Q & A

What is an attitude in psychological terms?

An attitude in psychology is a learned, stable, and lasting evaluation of a person, object, event, or idea that can affect someone's behavior.

What are the two types of attitudes mentioned in the script?

The two types of attitudes mentioned are explicit attitudes, which we are aware of, and implicit attitudes, which we may not be aware of.

How do attitudes affect our behavior?

Attitudes can affect our behavior by influencing the decisions we make, the way we process information, and how we stand up for our values and beliefs.

Why are attitudes not inherently bad according to the script?

Attitudes are not inherently bad because they help us make decisions, process information, and stand up for our values and beliefs more efficiently.

What is attitude specificity and how does it relate to behavior?

Attitude specificity refers to the likelihood of an attitude being expressed in behavior when the facts and situation align with that attitude.

Can you provide an example of attitude specificity from the script?

An example of attitude specificity is supporting a certain team and expressing that attitude easily among friends who also support the team.

What is cognitive dissonance and how does it relate to attitudes and behavior?

Cognitive dissonance is the discomfort felt when there's a discrepancy between a person's attitude and their behavior. It's the psychological tension that arises from holding conflicting attitudes or beliefs.

How does cognitive dissonance manifest when a person's attitude and behavior contradict each other?

Cognitive dissonance can lead to people either changing their attitudes to align with their behavior or justifying their behavior to maintain their existing attitudes.

What did Festinger's study on a cult reveal about cognitive dissonance?

Festinger's study revealed that the more invested someone is in a belief, the less likely they are to change their attitude due to cognitive dissonance. Instead, they may justify their behavior or reinterpret evidence.

How does the script suggest dealing with cognitive dissonance?

The script suggests that dealing with cognitive dissonance requires勇气 to hold to your beliefs when appropriate and to change them for the better when they are wrong.

What is the significance of cognitive dissonance in understanding human behavior according to the script?

Cognitive dissonance is significant in understanding human behavior because it highlights the complexity and contradictions in how attitudes and actions can diverge, and how people cope with this divergence.

Outlines

00:00

🚬 Attitudes and Behavior: The Complex Relationship

This paragraph discusses the complexity of attitudes towards smoking and how they do not always align with behavior. It introduces the psychological concept of attitudes as learned, stable evaluations that influence behavior. Explicit and implicit attitudes are mentioned, with the former being consciously recognized and the latter operating outside of awareness. The paragraph highlights that attitudes are not inherently negative and serve practical functions such as decision-making and value assertion. It also touches on the idea that attitudes do not always translate into actions, especially when the situation does not support the expression of the attitude, leading to a concept known as attitude specificity. The narrative uses the example of supporting a sports team versus the challenge of maintaining a healthy diet to illustrate this point.

Keywords

💡Attitude

An attitude in psychology refers to a learned, stable, and lasting evaluation of a person, object, event, or idea that can influence behavior. It is central to the video's theme as it explores how attitudes may not always align with actions. For instance, the script mentions that people can have a negative attitude towards smoking but still smoke, indicating a complex relationship between attitudes and behavior.

💡Explicit Attitudes

Explicit attitudes are those that a person is consciously aware of. The video discusses that these attitudes can be either positive or negative and are part of the conscious decision-making process. An example from the script is the attitude that exercise is important, which directly influences a person's behavior towards a healthier lifestyle.

💡Implicit Attitudes

Implicit attitudes are those that a person may not be consciously aware of but still affect their behavior. The video mentions these attitudes to highlight how our unconscious biases can drive actions that may contradict our stated beliefs. An example is provided where a person might implicitly prefer unhealthy food despite explicitly valuing health.

💡Cognitive Dissonance

Cognitive dissonance is the psychological discomfort experienced when a person's attitudes and behaviors are inconsistent. The video uses this concept to explain why people might change their attitudes or justify their actions to reduce this discomfort. An example given is lying to protect a friend's feelings, which contradicts one's attitude towards honesty.

💡Attitude Specificity

Attitude specificity refers to the ease with which an attitude can be expressed in behavior depending on the situation. The video explains that if the situation aligns with one's attitude, it is more likely to be expressed. For example, it's easier to express support for a sports team among friends who share the same support.

💡Behavior

Behavior in the context of the video is the observable actions of individuals that can be influenced by their attitudes. The video discusses how behavior is not always a direct reflection of attitudes, leading to the concept of cognitive dissonance. An example is the difficulty in maintaining a healthy diet despite the attitude that exercise is good.

💡Justification

Justification in the video is a process where individuals rationalize their behavior to align with their attitudes to reduce cognitive dissonance. It is used to explain how deeply invested individuals might not change their attitudes but instead find reasons to justify their actions. An example is provided where cult members justify the non-occurrence of a predicted flood as a result of their faithfulness.

💡Investment

Investment in the video refers to the degree to which a person is committed to a belief or attitude. It is related to the likelihood of experiencing cognitive dissonance and the subsequent changes in attitude or behavior. The video suggests that the more invested a person is, the less likely they are to change their attitude and more likely to justify their behavior.

💡Festinger

Festinger, mentioned in the video, is the psychologist who developed the theory of cognitive dissonance. His work is integral to understanding the video's theme as it provides a framework for discussing the discrepancies between attitudes and behavior. The video references his study on a cult to illustrate how deeply invested individuals reinterpret evidence to justify their beliefs.

💡Honesty

Honesty is used in the video as an example of an attitude that can come into conflict with behavior, leading to cognitive dissonance. It is discussed in the context of how people might lie but still hold the attitude that honesty is important, creating a need to justify the behavior to reduce dissonance.

💡Cult

The term 'cult' in the video is used as a setting to illustrate the concept of cognitive dissonance. It shows how individuals within a cult, despite their attitudes, might justify their beliefs when their predictions do not come true. This example demonstrates how attitudes can be reinforced or changed based on the level of investment and the need to resolve dissonance.

Highlights

Smoking attitudes can be complex, with some smokers having negative views towards smoking.

An attitude in psychology is defined as a learned, stable, and lasting evaluation that can influence behavior.

There are explicit attitudes we are aware of and implicit attitudes we may not be aware of.

Attitudes help us make decisions, process information, and stand up for our values and beliefs.

The attitude that exercise is important can influence behavior towards healthier living.

Attitudes do not always convert into behavior, especially if the situation does not align with the attitude.

Attitude specificity refers to how easily an attitude can be expressed in behavior.

Cognitive dissonance is the discomfort felt when there's a discrepancy between a person's attitude and their behavior.

Cognitive dissonance can lead people to justify their behavior to align with their attitudes.

Festinger's theory of cognitive dissonance was observed in a cult that believed in an impending flood.

Cult members who were more committed were less likely to change their attitudes after the flood did not occur.

Investment in an attitude can lead to justification of behavior rather than a change in attitude.

Cognitive dissonance can cause people to change their attitude, behavior, or justify the contradiction.

Cognitive dissonance occurs because no one is totally consistent with their attitudes and behavior.

The decision to hold to beliefs or change attitudes for the better requires courage.

Transcripts

smoking is an issue that most people

have strong beliefs towards either for

or against it may be logical to assume

that most people who smoke must have a

more positive attitude towards smoking

but if you think about it it's more

complex than that isn't it i mean it's

possible for someone to have a negative

attitude towards smoking

but still be a smoker themselves in this

lesson we're going to explore what

attitudes are in psychology

and why they sometimes totally don't

match a person's behavior

first some definitions an attitude in

psychology is a learned

stable and lasting evaluation of a

person object

event or idea that can affect someone's

behavior of course there are attitudes

that we are aware of which we call

explicit attitudes but also attitudes

that we may not be aware of called

implicit attitudes either way both have

an effect on our behavior

now it's worth saying that attitudes

aren't inherently bad i mean without

them

it would take much more time and effort

to make decisions

process information or stand up for our

values and beliefs

for example the attitude that exercise

is important

is more likely to influence your

behavior towards healthier living

but does an attitude always convert into

a behavior

well if the facts and the situation

aligned with your attitude then

yes it'll be far more likely to be

expressed in your behavior but does an

attitude always convert into a behavior

well if the facts and the situation

align with your attitude

then yes it'll be far more likely to be

expressed in your behavior

we call this attitude specificity for

example if you support a certain team

and you're amongst friends who do as

well it's easy to express that attitude

in your behavior i mean no one's gonna

make fun of you for that

on the flip side though your attitude

about exercise being good

may be harder to express if you've tried

healthy eating for three days

and it didn't seem to pay off not

speaking from experience at all of

course

but yeah you know all of a sudden those

donuts are looking real good

and before you know it they're in my

belly i mean you know the hypothetical

person's billy

psychologists are really interested in

moments like these because

acting in a way that contradicts your

beliefs is something that's quite

uniquely human to do

a robot would not be able to go against

its programming

unless i guess it was programmed to do

so but you get what i mean

we humans are complicated this

contradiction is known in psychology as

cognitive dissonance that discomfort

felt

when there's a discrepancy between a

person's attitude and their behavior

it's that feeling when you're telling a

lie and you know that you should be

honest

the dissonance is uncomfortable and

people go to considerable efforts to try

and justify what they did

you might say that well you know it's

it's better that you lied

instead of hurting your friend and so

you know you're still being a good

honest person and

not really going against your beliefs in

his 1964 book

when prophecy fails festinger the guy

who came up with the theory of cognitive

dissonance

observed members of a cult who amongst

other things believed that the world was

soon gonna be destroyed by a flood

of course the biblical account said that

noah's flood will never happen again

but that clearly wasn't relevant here

when the flood well didn't

occur the researchers observed how the

members responded

they noticed that members who weren't as

committed were more likely to recognize

that they had been foolish

and tricked by the cult but some who had

fully committed to it like

leaving their jobs and selling the

houses were far more likely to

reinterpret the evidence

and say that it was because of their

faithfulness that the flood was

prevented

in the first case cognitive dissonance

caused people to change their attitudes

in the second case cognitive dissonance

caused people to

justify their behavior their attitude

didn't change

one bit while there are criticisms of

this study including neglecting many

other possible contributing factors

festenge and the researchers concluded

that the more invested someone is

the less likely cognitive dissonance

will cause them to rethink their

underlying attitude

they'll simply come up with ways to

justify or perhaps change their behavior

this flowchart summarizes the process if

a person acts in a way that's consistent

with their beliefs

there's no internal tension and

therefore no discomfort

but if there's cognitive dissonance a

person might ease the tension

by changing their attitude changing

their behavior

or finding a way to justify the

contradiction between the attitude and

behavior

especially if they're really invested in

it cognitive dissonance happens to all

of us

because no one is totally consistent

with attitudes and behavior

the question is when is it the time to

hold to your beliefs and not be swayed

by the results

and when is the time to realize that

maybe it's your attitudes that were

wrong in the first place

and change them for the better doing so

will require courage but

you're the only one who can do it

you