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Latihan TOEFL Listening 17: Lecture: Cognitive Dissonance

Ini transkrip percakapan atau kuliah untuk latihan listening. Coba pahami isinya, lalu jawab 10 soal di bawah.

Cognitive dissonance refers to the psychological discomfort that arises when a person holds two or more contradictory beliefs, or when their behavior conflicts with their stated beliefs or values. First described by psychologist Leon Festinger in the 1950s, the theory proposes that this discomfort motivates people to reduce the inconsistency, often not by changing their behavior but by adjusting their beliefs or rationalizing the conflict.

In one classic study, participants were paid either a small or a large amount of money to tell another person that an extremely boring task was actually enjoyable. Counterintuitively, participants paid the smaller amount later reported finding the task more enjoyable than those paid the larger amount. Festinger explained this by arguing that participants paid poorly lacked sufficient external justification for lying, so they resolved the resulting dissonance internally by genuinely convincing themselves that the task had been enjoyable.

This theory helps explain a range of everyday behaviors, including why smokers who cannot easily quit sometimes downplay health risks, or why people who make a difficult decision often subsequently emphasize the positive aspects of their choice while minimizing the alternatives they rejected, a pattern sometimes called post-decision rationalization. Critics note, however, that not all apparent instances of dissonance reduction necessarily reflect a genuine underlying discomfort, since people may sometimes report consistent attitudes simply to appear rational to others, regardless of their actual internal psychological state.

Soal

1. What is the main purpose of this lecture?

  1. Describing Festinger's complete biography
  2. Comparing smoking rates across different countries
  3. Explaining cognitive dissonance theory and its supporting evidence and limitations
  4. Arguing that all human behavior is completely rational
Lihat jawaban dan pembahasan

Jawaban: C. Explaining cognitive dissonance theory and its supporting evidence and limitations

Lecture menjelaskan teori cognitive dissonance, bukti pendukungnya, dan kritik terhadapnya.

2. According to the lecture, when was cognitive dissonance theory first described?

  1. In the 2000s
  2. In the 1950s
  3. In ancient times
  4. In the 1800s
Lihat jawaban dan pembahasan

Jawaban: B. In the 1950s

Disebutkan eksplisit 'first described by psychologist Leon Festinger in the 1950s'.

3. According to the lecture, what did participants paid a smaller amount later report about the boring task?

  1. That they found it more enjoyable than those paid a larger amount
  2. That they found it equally boring as those paid more
  3. That they were unaware of any payment
  4. That they refused to complete the task
Lihat jawaban dan pembahasan

Jawaban: A. That they found it more enjoyable than those paid a larger amount

Disebutkan eksplisit temuan 'counterintuitive' ini di paragraf 2.

4. It can be inferred that participants paid a larger amount to lie about the task

  1. Had sufficient external justification for their behavior, reducing their need to change their internal beliefs
  2. Experienced more cognitive dissonance than those paid less
  3. Refused to participate in the study
  4. Were not aware they had been paid
Lihat jawaban dan pembahasan

Jawaban: A. Had sufficient external justification for their behavior, reducing their need to change their internal beliefs

Disebutkan yang dibayar lebih banyak punya 'external justification' sehingga tak perlu meyakinkan diri sendiri secara internal.

5. Why does the lecturer describe this classic payment study?

  1. To compare different countries' research funding
  2. To provide empirical evidence supporting the theory of cognitive dissonance
  3. To criticize the ethics of psychological research generally
  4. To argue that paying people more money always produces better results
Lihat jawaban dan pembahasan

Jawaban: B. To provide empirical evidence supporting the theory of cognitive dissonance

Studi ini menjadi bukti empiris klasik yang mendukung teori dissonance.

6. The word 'rationalizing' as used in the lecture is closest in meaning to

  1. Completely ignoring a problem without any explanation
  2. Creating seemingly logical explanations to justify a conflict or behavior
  3. Financially compensating someone
  4. Physically measuring a psychological reaction
Lihat jawaban dan pembahasan

Jawaban: B. Creating seemingly logical explanations to justify a conflict or behavior

'Rationalizing the conflict' berarti membuat alasan yang tampak logis untuk membenarkan konflik keyakinan.

7. According to the lecture, what is post-decision rationalization?

  1. Reversing a decision immediately after making it
  2. Asking others to make decisions instead
  3. Emphasizing the positive aspects of a choice while minimizing rejected alternatives
  4. Refusing to make any decision at all
Lihat jawaban dan pembahasan

Jawaban: C. Emphasizing the positive aspects of a choice while minimizing rejected alternatives

Ini definisi langsung yang diberikan di paragraf 3.

8. It can be inferred that smokers who downplay health risks, according to the lecture, are

  1. Unaffected by cognitive dissonance entirely
  2. Attempting to reduce the dissonance between their behavior and known health risks
  3. Completely unaware that smoking has any health risks
  4. Certain to quit smoking immediately
Lihat jawaban dan pembahasan

Jawaban: B. Attempting to reduce the dissonance between their behavior and known health risks

Ini disebut sebagai salah satu contoh perilaku sehari-hari yang dijelaskan oleh teori dissonance.

9. According to the lecture, what do critics of the theory point out?

  1. That not all apparent dissonance reduction necessarily reflects genuine internal discomfort
  2. That cognitive dissonance has never been observed in any study
  3. That dissonance only affects children, not adults
  4. That Festinger's original study was completely fabricated
Lihat jawaban dan pembahasan

Jawaban: A. That not all apparent dissonance reduction necessarily reflects genuine internal discomfort

Disebutkan eksplisit kritik ini di kalimat terakhir.

10. Why does the lecturer mention that people may report consistent attitudes just to appear rational?

  1. To argue that the entire theory is false
  2. To criticize the participants in Festinger's study personally
  3. To present a critical perspective that qualifies the theory's interpretation of behavior
  4. To explain a completely unrelated psychological concept
Lihat jawaban dan pembahasan

Jawaban: C. To present a critical perspective that qualifies the theory's interpretation of behavior

Ini bagian dari kritik yang mempertanyakan interpretasi teori terhadap perilaku yang diamati.

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