Question

Tom saw a weight-loss program advertised on late-night television. The ad claimed that deep breathing exercises would speed up metabolism, causing people to lose weight. He mailed a check for $99.95. When the plan arrived, Tom rearranged his day so that he could complete the breathing exercises as scheduled. They made him nauseated and dizzy, and before long, Tom's friends began to think that he was going overboard with the program, and they began to avoid him. After the end of the ten-week program, Tom got on the scale and saw that he hadn't lost an ounce! Still, he remained enthusiastic and thought, "I may not have lost any weight, but I feel so much healthier!" This situation is best explained by

Answer 1

The answer is: The justification of suffering

According to the justification of suffering principle, people are more likely to make a personalized explanation to justify the  bad decisions that caused suffering in their life rather than acknowledging we make a mistake.

In Tom's case, rather than acknowledging his lack of discipline, Tom decided to justified his failure by telling himself that he got some sort of psychological benefit from the program.