GRE Psychology Subject Test
Questions and Answers 100% Pass
Attitudes - ✔✔An opinion or general feeling about cognitions, beliefs, feelings, or
behavioral predisposition.
Consistency Theories - ✔✔Theoretical perspectives from social psychology that hold
that people prefer consistency between attitudes and behaviors, and that people will
change or resist changing attitudes based upon this preference.
balance theory - ✔✔theory that is concerned with the way 3 elements are related: the
person whom we're talking about (symbolized as P), some other person (symbolized as
O), and a thing, idea, or some other person (symbolized by X). Balance exists when all
three fit together harmoniously. When there isn't balance, there will be stress, and a
tendency to remove this stress by achieving balance; Fritz Heider
cognitive dissonance theory - ✔✔theory that the conflict or inconsistency between
internal attitudes and external behaviors which may result in a change of attitude; Leon
Fistinger
Brittie Donald, All Rights Reserved © 2025 1
,What does increased dissonance lead to? - ✔✔Increased pressure to decrease
dissonance.
free choice & forced compliance - ✔✔two types of dissonance
free choice dissonance - ✔✔dissonance where a person decides between several
desirable outcomes
forced compliance dissonance - ✔✔dissonance where a person is forced into behaving
in an inconsistent manner from their beliefs
post-decision dissonance - ✔✔dissonance where a person has a feeling of anxiety over
whether the correct decision was made
spreading of alternatives - ✔✔when alternatives are seen as different after choice is
made (the one we chose as better, the one we rejected as worse)
minimal justification effect - ✔✔effect studied by Participants who did a boring task,
then were asked to tell next person it was fun for $1 or $20
- Results: $1 participants reported enjoying task more than $20 participants
- Explanation: $20 participants could attribute behavior (saying it was fun) to the $20
they received, but $1 isn't enough to justify the dissonant behavior. So, $1 participants
instead changed their attitudes about the task
- Festinger and Carlsmith (1959)
Brittie Donald, All Rights Reserved © 2025 2
,self-perception theory - ✔✔The theory that when our attitudes and feelings are
uncertain or ambiguous, we infer these states by observing our behavior and the
situation in which it occurs; Daryl Bem
overjustification effect - ✔✔the effect of bribing people to do what they already like
doing; they may then see their actions as externally controlled rather than intrinsically
appealing
Model of persuasion - ✔✔model described by an attitude change as a process of
communicating a message with the intent to persuade someone; Carl Hovland
communicator, communication, and situation - ✔✔Hovland's model of persuasion
components
sleeper effect - ✔✔effect where persuasive communication from a source of low
credibility may become more acceptable later while communication from high
credibility source may decrease; source credibility study on era controversial topics (one
written by an American physicist & another by a Russian newspaper)
Russain newspaper persuaded 0%, American physicist persuaded 36%; Hovland &
Weiss (1951)
two sided messages - ✔✔arguments for and against a position; often used for
persuasion since such seems to be "balanced" communication. (News reporting)
Brittie Donald, All Rights Reserved © 2025 3
, Elaboration Likelihood Model of Persuasion - ✔✔model that suggests 2 routes of
persuasion; central & peripheral; Petty & Cacioppo
central route persuasion - ✔✔persuasion that occurs when interested people focus on
the arguments and respond with favorable thoughts
peripheral route persuasion - ✔✔persuasion that occurs when non-interested people do
not clearly understand an argument and can be influenced by incidental cues, such as a
speaker's attractiveness
analogy of inoculation, belief perseverance, and reactance - ✔✔3 ways to resist
persuasion
Analogy of inoculation - ✔✔analogy where people can resist persuasive
communications as seen in physical inoculation (flu shot); William McGuire
cultural truisms & refuted counterarguments - ✔✔2 ways to rest the analogy of
inoculation
cultural truisms - ✔✔beliefs that are seldom questioned, but rarely attacked even
though they are vulnerable to attack.
refuted counterarguments - ✔✔when a person is first presenting arguments against the
truisms and then refuting them; motivates people to practice defending beliefs.
Brittie Donald, All Rights Reserved © 2025 4
Questions and Answers 100% Pass
Attitudes - ✔✔An opinion or general feeling about cognitions, beliefs, feelings, or
behavioral predisposition.
Consistency Theories - ✔✔Theoretical perspectives from social psychology that hold
that people prefer consistency between attitudes and behaviors, and that people will
change or resist changing attitudes based upon this preference.
balance theory - ✔✔theory that is concerned with the way 3 elements are related: the
person whom we're talking about (symbolized as P), some other person (symbolized as
O), and a thing, idea, or some other person (symbolized by X). Balance exists when all
three fit together harmoniously. When there isn't balance, there will be stress, and a
tendency to remove this stress by achieving balance; Fritz Heider
cognitive dissonance theory - ✔✔theory that the conflict or inconsistency between
internal attitudes and external behaviors which may result in a change of attitude; Leon
Fistinger
Brittie Donald, All Rights Reserved © 2025 1
,What does increased dissonance lead to? - ✔✔Increased pressure to decrease
dissonance.
free choice & forced compliance - ✔✔two types of dissonance
free choice dissonance - ✔✔dissonance where a person decides between several
desirable outcomes
forced compliance dissonance - ✔✔dissonance where a person is forced into behaving
in an inconsistent manner from their beliefs
post-decision dissonance - ✔✔dissonance where a person has a feeling of anxiety over
whether the correct decision was made
spreading of alternatives - ✔✔when alternatives are seen as different after choice is
made (the one we chose as better, the one we rejected as worse)
minimal justification effect - ✔✔effect studied by Participants who did a boring task,
then were asked to tell next person it was fun for $1 or $20
- Results: $1 participants reported enjoying task more than $20 participants
- Explanation: $20 participants could attribute behavior (saying it was fun) to the $20
they received, but $1 isn't enough to justify the dissonant behavior. So, $1 participants
instead changed their attitudes about the task
- Festinger and Carlsmith (1959)
Brittie Donald, All Rights Reserved © 2025 2
,self-perception theory - ✔✔The theory that when our attitudes and feelings are
uncertain or ambiguous, we infer these states by observing our behavior and the
situation in which it occurs; Daryl Bem
overjustification effect - ✔✔the effect of bribing people to do what they already like
doing; they may then see their actions as externally controlled rather than intrinsically
appealing
Model of persuasion - ✔✔model described by an attitude change as a process of
communicating a message with the intent to persuade someone; Carl Hovland
communicator, communication, and situation - ✔✔Hovland's model of persuasion
components
sleeper effect - ✔✔effect where persuasive communication from a source of low
credibility may become more acceptable later while communication from high
credibility source may decrease; source credibility study on era controversial topics (one
written by an American physicist & another by a Russian newspaper)
Russain newspaper persuaded 0%, American physicist persuaded 36%; Hovland &
Weiss (1951)
two sided messages - ✔✔arguments for and against a position; often used for
persuasion since such seems to be "balanced" communication. (News reporting)
Brittie Donald, All Rights Reserved © 2025 3
, Elaboration Likelihood Model of Persuasion - ✔✔model that suggests 2 routes of
persuasion; central & peripheral; Petty & Cacioppo
central route persuasion - ✔✔persuasion that occurs when interested people focus on
the arguments and respond with favorable thoughts
peripheral route persuasion - ✔✔persuasion that occurs when non-interested people do
not clearly understand an argument and can be influenced by incidental cues, such as a
speaker's attractiveness
analogy of inoculation, belief perseverance, and reactance - ✔✔3 ways to resist
persuasion
Analogy of inoculation - ✔✔analogy where people can resist persuasive
communications as seen in physical inoculation (flu shot); William McGuire
cultural truisms & refuted counterarguments - ✔✔2 ways to rest the analogy of
inoculation
cultural truisms - ✔✔beliefs that are seldom questioned, but rarely attacked even
though they are vulnerable to attack.
refuted counterarguments - ✔✔when a person is first presenting arguments against the
truisms and then refuting them; motivates people to practice defending beliefs.
Brittie Donald, All Rights Reserved © 2025 4
