Your friend wears bell-bottoms constantly, a behavior that offends your sense of style. If you wanted to apply cognitive dissonance theory to get your friend to change her attitude toward bell-bottoms, you should encourage her to give a public speech __________ under conditions of __________ external justification.
A) against bell-bottoms; low
B) in favor of bell-bottoms; low
C) against bell-bottoms; high
D) in favor of bell-bottoms; high

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Cognitive dissonance theory suggests that people experience discomfort (dissonance) when their beliefs or behaviors are inconsistent with each other. To reduce this discomfort, they may change their attitudes or beliefs. Encouraging your friend to give a public speech against bell-bottoms under conditions of low external justification (e.g., without offering a significant reward or punishment) would likely create dissonance between her behavior (speaking against bell-bottoms) and her attitude (wearing bell-bottoms), potentially leading her to change her attitude to align with her behavior.

Your Friend Wears Bell-Bottoms Constantly, a Behavior That Offends Your