Festinger and Carlsmith (1959) conducted an experiment where participants performed an hour long boring task and then were paid either $1 or $20 to tell the next person the experiment was enjoyable. Based on the results of that study, how much money do I need to give to students for them to say they enjoyed entering pages and pages of data, and to make them want to do it again.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Festinger and Carlsmith's study demonstrated that participants paid $1 experienced more cognitive dissonance and thus convinced themselves that the task was enjoyable to reduce the dissonance. Therefore, a smaller reward can be more effective in changing attitudes.

Festinger and Carlsmith (1959) Conducted an Experiment Where Participants Performed