A researcher conducting a study wants to elicit cognitive dissonance from her subjects. Based on Festinger and Carlsmith's 1959 experiment, which of the following options is the best way to do so?
A)Pay subjects a large sum of money
B)Pay subjects a small sum of money
C)Allow subjects to determine amount of pay
D)Do not pay subjects

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Cognitive dissonance results from an individual holding two contradictory ideas at the same time; it is believed that people are motivated to reduce dissonance by adjusting attitudes or behaviors or by rationalizing them. Paying subjects a small amount of money for participation in a study implies that the study is boring, useless, or otherwise negative and unworthy of their time; hence, subjects experience cognitive dissonance by partaking in the study. The 1959 experiment had two groups spend an hour performing boring tasks, then asked each group to convince incoming subjects that the tasks were interesting. One group was paid $1 to do so and one group $20. Members of the former group felt pressure to internalize the attitude because they lacked external justification for their actions, and did a better job convincing new subjects.

A Researcher Conducting a Study Wants to Elicit Cognitive Dissonance