This thesis explores the reputation that the United States has for supporting and promoting three norms related to nuclear weapons: nonproliferation, non-use, and deterrence, while simultaneously examining the impact that United States actions can have on the saliency of the norms themselves. Ultimately, the United States has the ability to considerably impact the saliency of international nuclear norms, and has encouraged other states to accept and abide by them. However, there exists a disparity between the words and actions of the United States. In effect, the United States may “talk the talk” by expressing support and attempting to influence other states to abide by nuclear norms, but has shown a reluctance to “walk the walk” by failing to demonstrate behavior that is in full accordance with the norms. This disparity between words and actions has the ability to damage the United States’ reputation as a leader of nuclear norms, and can ultimately diminish their saliency to the international community.

In the light of corporate scandals, pressure has increased on organizations to communicate information related to their corporate social responsibility (CSR). In order to keep up with the increased pressure on social commitment, organizations’ self-descriptions may be future-oriented rather than reflections of reality. The future-oriented communication may improve the organizational culture and thereby motivate staff to perform more efficiently. On the other hand, if the organization does not fulfill their CSR communication it could lead to internal skepticism. This thesis constitutes a case study of the organization Coop, comprising whether the relationship between its CSR communication and the internal perception of Coop’s CSR work in store has affected their organizational culture.   In order to answer How does Coop communicate it sustainability work through its external communication? and How does the staff perceive Coop's sustainability work? a qualitative content analysis and interviews with Coop’s staff have been conducted. The theoretical framework consists of Nils Brunsson’s (2006) theory about Organized hypocrisy, and Christensen's (1997) Autocommunication.   A conclusion that can be made from the results of this thesis, is that the image communicated from Coop (regarding their sustainability work) does not seem to be fully aligned with the staff’s perception of Coop’s sustainability work. Coop’s definition of their sustainability work had only been acknowledged by some, whereas half of the staff had individual interpretations of Coop’s sustainability work. The various definitions of sustainability among the staff led to various attitudes towards Coop’s sustainability work, which ultimately resulted in a fragmented organizational culture.

Hypocrisy induction is a dissonance-based intervention approach that has been successful in changing a number of health-related behaviors; however, no published studies have evaluated a hypocrisy induction intervention for exercise. The present two-stage study involved developing and subsequently evaluating a hypocrisy induction intervention for exercise in a small-scale randomized controlled trial (RCT). Outcomes of interest were intention to exercise, immediate physical activity-related behavior choice, and short-term (one-week) changes in self-reported exercise and objectively assessed physical activity. Self-esteem was evaluated as a potential moderator of intervention effects. After two rounds of pilot testing in the Development Phase, the intervention was evaluated in a sample of 120 participants (60 each in the exercise intervention and no-intervention control conditions). Participants who received the intervention reported significantly greater intention to exercise than did control participants who did not receive the intervention (p = .02, d = 0.43). Small effects in favor of the intervention were also found for self-reported exercise and objectively assessed physical activity (d = .21 - .35), but these effects were nonsignificant. Self-esteem influenced the effect of the intervention on self-reported exercise: The intervention was more effective for participants with lower levels of self-esteem. The present findings provide preliminary support for use of hypocrisy induction interventions in exercise promotion, but additional research is needed to determine for whom and in what situations this approach is best used.

Aronson, E., Fried, C., Stone, J., (1991) ont cherché à mettre en place une procédure permettant aux acteurs de la vie sociale de promouvoir de nouveaux comportements socialement souhaitables, comme l’utilisation du préservatif. C’est ainsi que va naître le paradigme de l’hypocrisie induite. Ce paradigme résulte de l’enchaînement de deux facteurs : l’engagement dans le comportement pro-normatif et, le rappel et la saillance des transgressions récentes passées. L’articulation des deux phases provoque un état de dissonance qui va générer une modification du comportement dans le sens du discours pro-normatif. Cette thèse a cherché à démontrer de quelle manière ce paradigme de l’hypocrisie induite est le plus efficace en termes de modification du comportement : en restant anonyme ou en déclinant son identité. Fried (1998), identifie les sujets avec leurs transgressions en déclinant leur identité afin d'augmenter leur dissonance. Toutefois, les résultats obtenus ont démontré le contraire. Cette thèse, présente quatre expérimentations, reprenant la manipulation du facteur « déclinaison de son identité » dans le paradigme de l’hypocrisie induite, lors des deux phases. Les résultats obtenus répliquent en termes de changement de comportement, ceux obtenus par Fried. L’effet d’hypocrisie disparaît lorsque les sujets sont identifiés avec leur rappel des transgressions. Il résulte de nos travaux que la formule la plus efficace à l’obtention de l’effet d’hypocrisie est celle combinant un prêche et un rappel des transgressions anonymes. De plus, la dissonance éveillée suite à la manipulation d’hypocrisie peut être réduite par d’autres voies que la modification du comportement. / Aronson, E., Fried, C., Stone, J., (1991) sought to establish a procedure allowing the actors of society to promote new socially desirable behaviors such as condom use. Thus is born the paradigm of the induced hypocrisy.This paradigm results from a chain of two factors: engagement in pro-normative behavior and recall and salience recent past transgressions. The articulation of the two phases causes a state of dissonance that will generate a change in behavior in the direction of pro-normative discourse. In this thesis, we sought to demonstrate how the paradigm of the induced hypocrisy is the most efficient in terms of behavior modification: remaining anonymous or stating his identity. In a study done by Fried (1998), subjects are identified with their transgressions by declining their identity. This was to increase dissonance. However, the results have shown otherwise.This thesis presents four experiments, taking one hand manipulation of the factor "version of its identity" in the experimental procedure paradigm induced hypocrisy, not only for the transgression phase but also in the phase of preaching. And secondly, introducing new ways of reducing cognitive dissonance.The results obtained replicate in terms of behavior change, those obtained by Fried. The hypocrisy effect disappears when subjects are identified with their recall of transgressions. It is clear from our work that the most effective formula to obtain the effect of hypocrisy is by combining a sermon and a reminder anonymous transgressions. Our studies also show that the dissonance aroused from manipulating hypocrisy can be reduced by means other than behavior modification.

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Academic dishonesty and academic entitlement plague many college campuses. This research applies the theory of cognitive dissonance to the classroom in an attempt to curb academic dishonesty. Hypocrisy, a branch of the theory of cognitive dissonance, has been induced with regards to health and pro-social causes, but has not been applied to the field of higher education. In order to apply the concept of hypocrisy to academic dishonesty, a two-part experiment was conducted. The first portion of the experiment was an in-class manipulation and the second portion was an online survey conducted one month after the manipulation. Two hundred two students participated in both portions of the experiment. The participants were randomly assigned to one of four conditions (e.g., hypocrisy, commitment only, mindfulness only, control) and participated in two activities. One month after the manipulation took place, students were sent a link to the online survey with a cover story indicating that the survey was part of a research study. After the survey was closed, participants were debriefed and the data was cleaned. Upon analyzing the data, no significant results were detected. The lack of statistical significance was likely due to the month time lapse and the single dose of the manipulation treatment. Overall, this study pioneers the application of hypocrisy in the field of education and provides guidance for future hypocrisy induction studies.

Thesis advisor: Sarah Babb / The years since the Paris Agreement have seen intensifying efforts to decarbonize the financial system. Disclosure frameworks, notably the Taskforce for Climate-related Financial Disclosure (TCFD), and Net-Zero targets, are fast becoming institutionalized globally to incentivize financial institutions to divert capital into low-carbon activities and away from carbon-heavy ones. I examine the implementation of these frameworks among financial corporations (FCs) in Singapore. 15 semi-structured interviews with professionals in the industry at the forefront of TCFD and Net-Zero suggest that FCs’ “talk” often does not match with their “actions”. Organizations ceremonially comply with new global standards as well as local regulations on TCFD and Net-Zero while they continue to finance carbon-intensive economic activities. Yet this apparent “hypocrisy” may not be so much a result of coordinated efforts for organizational buffering, as it is a consequence of disorganization and discoordination. Informants suggest that different parts within FCs independently perceived and responded differently, at a different pace, to the novel challenges that climate change has brought. I contribute to the environmental sociology literature on “organized hypocrisy” by examining how commonly perceived “hypocrisy” is or is not, in fact, “organized”. In doing so, I suggest that we should not assume “hypocrisy” to be an intentional organizational project. Furthermore, rather than seeing “hypocrisy” as effort to keep an organization “stable”, I argue that hypocrisy may be indicative of slow and potentially discordant organizational change, with ongoing internal efforts by insiders to match “actions” with “talk”. / Thesis (MA) — Boston College, 2023. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Sociology.

The international arms trade is of strategic and economic importance for the sending and receiving state. Due to the violent nature of arms however, the rhetoric of ethical considerations has become more profound in Western democracies following the end of the cold war. Despite this, previous research has shown that there is a discrepancy between words and actions. This phenomenon is captured in the term organized hypocrisy. No similar study on the case of Sweden has been done however, which I deem best suited for a least likely case study. Using quantitative methods to estimate the effect of variables on the probability of Sweden exporting arms, I find a positive correlation between the potential recipient’s democratic situation and the probability of exporting arms. These results contradict the theory of organized hypocrisy, hopefully contributing to the field and the debate on contemporary arms trade.

The two concepts of hypocrisy and heresy are completely disparate in modern use, and yet they were related in two ways during the early modern period. Firstly, both terms were prominent charges in the polemical exchanges of the English Reformation. Consequently, in this thesis they provide useful tools for studying the effects of controversy on language. The meaning of hypocrisy and of heresy was of considerable concern to many controversialists, and yet the resulting attempts at defining these terms contributed to their destabilization and incoherence. These terms were also related in a second respect throughout the early modern period. Given the universal conviction at that time that there was only one “true” church, and given the consequent pressures imposed by churches (both Catholic and Protestant) to enforce conformity to their own religions, it was inevitable that judgements had to be made concerning the convictions and internal beliefs of others. Such judgements were central in charges of heresy and hypocrisy; hence in this thesis the concepts of hypocrisy and heresy provide useful tools for studying early modern understandings of intentionality and judgement. The writings of Sir John Cheke, William Perkins, Bishop Joseph Hall and Sir Francis Bacon are shown to display concern combined with confusion and incoherence over these topics. However, Sir Thomas More’s Dialogue Concerning Heresies is shown to contain an intricate and coherent analysis of intentionality and judgement vis a vis heresy. But, More’s foundation for judgement and knowledge was the consensus fidelium, a foundation which simply was not available to the later Protestant writers. Lastly, Thomas Hobbes’s treatments of hypocrisy and heresy are examined. In effect, Hobbes negated the judgement of intentions where both concepts were concerned. He acknowledged and accepted the separation of internal belief from external profession. Likewise he accepted the impenetrable nature of the human mind and heart in a way his forebears had not. By examining Hobbes’s treatment of these concepts in light of the polemical confusion and conceptual incoherence of the preceeding century, a better understanding of Hobbes’s philosophy is obtained and the relevance of early modern theology for intellectual history is demonstrated.