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Listen to an Academic Talk Test #091
Listen to an Academic Talk
1. What is the main topic of the lecture?
A) A psychological theory about mental conflict
B) The health effects of certain behaviors
C) How to change personal beliefs
D) The history of psychological experiments
2. According to the professor, how might a smoker reduce cognitive dissonance?
A) By starting a new, healthier habit
B) By avoiding any information about health
C) By deciding to quit smoking immediately
D) By questioning the health risks of smoking
3. What does the professor imply about human psychology?
A) People find it difficult to live with inconsistencies
B) People prefer to change their actions over their beliefs
C) Mental discomfort is a rare psychological state
D) Justifying behavior is always a negative trait
4. Why does the professor mention a person who smokes?
A) To provide a clear example of a concept
B) To warn students about the dangers of smoking
C) To argue that managing stress is important
D) To compare two different psychological theories
Professor: Good morning. Today we're discussing cognitive dissonance. This is a term in psychology for the mental discomfort experienced by a person who holds two or more contradictory beliefs, ideas, or values. For example, imagine someone who believes smoking is unhealthy but continues to smoke. This creates a state of dissonance.
To reduce this discomfort, the person might change their behavior—quit smoking—or, more often, they change their belief. They might downplay the health risks, saying, 'The science isn't totally conclusive,' or 'I need it to manage stress.' This justification reduces the mental conflict.
Essentially, cognitive dissonance theory suggests that we have a powerful inner drive to hold all our attitudes and beliefs in harmony and avoid disharmony, or dissonance. We'll look at some key experiments on this next.
To reduce this discomfort, the person might change their behavior—quit smoking—or, more often, they change their belief. They might downplay the health risks, saying, 'The science isn't totally conclusive,' or 'I need it to manage stress.' This justification reduces the mental conflict.
Essentially, cognitive dissonance theory suggests that we have a powerful inner drive to hold all our attitudes and beliefs in harmony and avoid disharmony, or dissonance. We'll look at some key experiments on this next.
Highlights
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