Last week Beth paid $159.00 for a pair of binoculars at an exclusive high-tech store and believed she had gotten a bargain. This week she found the identical binoculars at SportsMart, a discount store, for $119.00. She is likely to experience:
A) selective perception
B) cognitive dissonance
C) perceptual dissonance
D) negative motivation
E) attitudinal dissatisfaction

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Beth is likely to experience cognitive dissonance, which is the discomfort or mental stress experienced by an individual who holds two or more contradictory beliefs, ideas, or values. In this case, Beth believed that she had gotten a bargain when she paid $159.00 for the binoculars, but she now realizes that she could have purchased them for $119.00 at a discount store. This discrepancy between her beliefs and her actions is likely to create an uncomfortable mental state known as cognitive dissonance.

Last Week Beth Paid $159