Module 5: Compensatory Control READINGS Flashcards
(28 cards)
compensatory control is a key human motivation and involves…
when perceptions of personal control people feel intense anxiety and uncomfortableness in living in a random world. In order to alleviate this feeling people turn to external systems for compensatory sources of control.
personal control =
the belief that we can predict, affect and control events in the present and future.
what are three routes of compensatory control?
(A) Pattern Perceptions
(illusionary) findings
patterns in a chaotic world.
(B) Faith in Institutions
(C) Faith in a controlling godCompensatory Control: Pattern Perceptions….
Low personal control leads to:
(A) increased need for order
and structure in their
everyday world.
(B) to see images in
meaningless static.
(C) to believe that random,
unconnected behaviours
bear a cause-effect
relationship from
developing superstitious
rituals to endorsing
conspiracy theories.
*pattern perception is the most
basic form of compensatory
control.
Compensatory Control: In our Institutions (Government Defense)…
> under the umbrella of "systems justification theory" in times of low personal control, people turn to their sociopolitical systems in order to feel that events do not occur randomly. > increase in personal control can lead to an increase in criticism of ones government. > increase in personal control can lead to a preference for government control. > relationship between faith in government and personal control is mediated by the extent to which people view their government as working for their best interests.
*only if the government is seen to be benevolent
Compensatory Control: Belief in God
> low personal control
increased belief in a
controlling god.
Mechanisms for Compensatory Control:
(A) Anxiety as a driving force:
anxious participants with
low personal control (and
not high) showed an
increase in belief in a
controlling god.
People who are low in
personal control that is
given an opportunity to
affirm their values no
longer show an increase in
compensatory beliefs.
If anxiety is attributed to a
placebo pill rather than the
task which decreases
personal control then
compensatory control
effects are eliminated.
Alternative accounts for compensatory control that are not correct:
(A) response to general threat
rather than low personal
control.
NASA faked the Moon landing- therefore, (climate) science is a hoax: the motivated rejection of science
reading findings:
(A) Endorsement of free-market
economics predicted the
rejection of climate science
and other sciences.
(B) Endorsement of conspiracy
beliefs predicted rejection
of climate science and other
sciences.
(C) The internet has become a
platform for denial.
(D) Acceptance of science was
strongly associated with the
perception of consensus
among scientists.Rejection of science:
the dismissal of well established scientific results for reasons that are not scientifically grounded.
Is scepticism and rejection of science the same thing?
No. Scepticism can trigger the revision of scientific claims based on scientific theory.
A healthy dose of scepticism can improve peoples ability to discriminate between truthful and false information.
Conspiracy theory definition:
an attempt to explain a significant social or political event as a secret plot by powerful individuals or organizations.
> used to explain away inconvenient scientific fact. > people have a general disposition which makes them more likely to endorse conspiracy theories. > believing in one conspiracy theory means you are likley to believe in others. > predicts a distrust for science.
Three ways to reduce the influence and spread od conspiracy theories:
(A) Hard to remove existing
beliefs because attempts to
debunk conspiracies can
inadvertently reinforce their
existence. Thus,
policymakers and scientists
should rebut multiple
conspiracies at the same
time.
(B) Address demand and not
supply. Try to reduce the
number of people
developing conspiracy
views rather than changing
the beliefs of those who
already endorse conspiracy
theories.
(C) Debiasing techniques,
reaffirmation of a subset of
beliefs among consumers of
conspiracy beliefs.Religious Beliefs are Reflective Elaborations on Institutions: A modified dual-process model
Reading findings
(A) religious beliefs are best
understood in terms of a
dual process model, (1 =
intuitions, 2 = reflections).
(B) explains why beliefs are
diverse but very similar and
immune to refutation.Religious beliefs are…
> not supported by or
motivated by science.
> are a cross-cultural
phenomenon.
> are post hoc (after the fact)
deliberate reflections on our
intuitions that serve to
explain, justify or elaborate
on our inuitions.
> driving force is relevance not
truth.What triggers reflection on intuitions?
> gaps or conflict between intuitive systems that leave room for elaboration. > misattributing psychological and physiological experiences with supernatural forces. > when existing beliefs conflict with new personal experience.
Why are religious beliefs similar, but not special?
(A) triggered by inconsistencies in intuitive systems.
(B) speculations tend to go in the same direction.
(C) there is nothing special about religion because all elaborative post hoc beliefs serve the same function.
**the intuitive systems which trigger religious beliefs also trigger non-religious beliefs.
what makes people more likely to adopt religious beliefs?
> mortality salience
> more intuitive people
what are common themes in reflections?
(A) people do not have a stable interpretation of their belief, it’s flawed.
(B) religious beliefs are immune to debate.
(C) more intuitive people are more likely to form religious beliefs than non-religious elaborations.
the difference between scientific theory and religious beliefs is…
qualitative
perceptions of control occur in two ways:
(A) Affirming personal control over one’s own life.
(B) Enhancing one’s beliefs in external systems or agents who exert control over the world.
Is science a form of CC
Yes. belief in science and societal progression can act as a form of compensatory control.
if personal control decreases ___ will increase and if personal control increases __ will decrease.
compensatory control.
Rutjen’s et al. (2013)
> decrease in personal control, increase in defence of human progress and science and willingness to invest in science.
*inertia effect- increase personal control by reading science article causes people to be less likely to engage in environmental behaviours because they already have a compensatory source of control.
