In Festinger's classic experiment, college students did an extremely boring task for a long time. Afterward, they were asked to help lure others into the experiment by pretending that the task was interesting and enjoyable. Later they were asked their opinion of the task. Those paid $20 for luring more participants

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CIn Festinger's experiment, those who were paid $20 did not change their opinion about the task and still thought it was boring because the high reward justified their action of lying, thus reducing cognitive dissonance. However, they also experienced cognitive dissonance because of the inconsistency between their actions (saying the task was interesting) and their true feelings (finding the task boring), but this dissonance was mitigated by the external justification of receiving $20.

In Festinger's Classic Experiment, College Students Did an Extremely Boring