In Festinger and Carlsmith's (1959) classic study on cognitive dissonance, participants who were paid $20 for doing a boring task, in contrast to those who were paid $1 for doing the same task, ________.

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Festinger and Carlsmith found that participants who were paid $1 for doing the boring task experienced cognitive dissonance because their behavior (doing the task) did not align with their attitude (the task was boring and not enjoyable). To reduce this dissonance, they convinced themselves that the task was actually interesting and enjoyable. In contrast, participants who were paid $20 did not experience dissonance because the large amount of money served as a sufficient external justification for their behavior, and they did not need to convince themselves that the task was enjoyable. Therefore, those who were paid $1 ended up liking the task more (to reduce dissonance), while those who were paid $20 did not experience this shift in attitude and may have even disliked the task more than the $1 group.

In Festinger and Carlsmith's (1959) Classic Study on Cognitive Dissonance