Question

In Festinger and Carlsmith's (1959) classic study on cognitive dissonance, participants who were paid $20 for doing a boring task, in contrast to those who were paid $1 for doing the same task, __________.

Answer 1

Answer:

In Festinger and Carlsmith's (1959) classic study on cognitive dissonance, participants who were paid $20 for doing a boring task, in contrast to those who were paid $1 for doing the same task, did not experience cognitive dissonance and rated the task as boring when alone.

Explanation:

In Festinger and Carlsmith's study, participants were asked to do a boring task for an hour. Then, some of them were paid $1 while others were paid $20 to lie to someone else by telling that person the activity was fun and enjoyable.

People who were paid only $1 later rated the task as fun, even though they no longer needed to lie. The reason for that is that they experienced cognitive dissonance - a discomfort caused when our beliefs and our actions are not aligned. They did a boring task, lied about it, and only got paid $1. In order to not feel uncomfortable about that fact, they would internalize the attitude they had been forced to express. In other words, they would convince themselves that the activity has indeed been fun.

On the other hand, people who were paid $20 did not experience cognitive dissonance. The higher amount of money actually made lying worth their while. Later, when rating the task by themselves, they did not rate it as fun. They did not feel the need to convince themselves that the task was not boring. The money was reward enough.