Social Psychology

Thoroughly answer each of the questions in the essay. If the essay calls for an article summary, think of it as the article summary you do for your assignment. It must be thorough. You must use citations and references. Please do not turn in work without this. Think of each of the essays as mini papers. Too little of a response will cost points. Point values matter and for reference, you'll need at least a paragraph for something valued at 5 points. If it is more points, should be a longer reply and contain detailed information to support your answer. Worth 150 pt total

Covers Module 1 Week 1 - Module 4 Week 4. 

QUESTION 1

“Under certain conditions, people who behave in attitude-discrepant ways go on to change their attitudes. Whether this phenomenon reflects a human need to reduce dissonance, however, is a matter of some controversy.” Compare/contrast 3 explanations that have been proposed to address this issue. (30 pts (Come up with an example that creates dissonance (6 pts) / Address this example with each of the 3 explanations to change attitudes (3 explanations each worth 8 pts for a total of 24 pts)).

QUESTION 2

Explain attribution theory in the context of the results of the article "Consumers' Responses to Negative WOM Communication: An Attribution theory Perspective." Why does it make sense via attribution theory that brand evaluations decreased when the negativity of the WOMC message was attributed to the brand, but brand evaluations increased when the negativity of the WOMC message was attributed to the communicator? (30 Pts (Explain attribution theory in this context (15 pts) / Explain why brand evaluations decreased for brand but increased for communicator (15 pts))

QUESTION 3

Explain the polarizing forces of social issues displayed on social networks like Facebook, using Social Identity Theory. What mechanisms allow these relationships? (30 pts (Explain Social Identity Theory (10 pts) / Identify 4 mechanisms/explanations of SIT that explain the polarizing displays on social networks (each explanation is worth 5 pts for a total of 20 pts))

QUESTION 4

The article "The Ironic Impact of Activists" claims that the negative stereotypes associated with these activists actually reduces their social change influence. Based on what you know about reducing negative stereotypes, what would you suggest based on the research, for a feminist group to remove its negative stereotype? (30 pts (Explain the claim of negative stereotypes reduce social change influence (10 pts) / Include 4 strategies a feminist group could apply to reduce their negative stereotype/s (5 pts each for 20 pts))

QUESTION 5

The research on how social comparisons influence the self have been mixed. Some research argues that upward comparisons inspire assimilation, whereas other research argues that upward comparisons lead to feelings of inferiority and a low self-concept. Based on your understanding of how people make social comparisons, what might influence how comparison standards affect a person's view of themselves? (30 pts (Make a summary statement about social comparisons (10 pts) / Review research on upward comparisons (list 2-3 reasons) (10 pts) / Review research on downward comparisons (list 2-3 reasons) (10 pts))