Attitude Formation and Attitude Change

AP Psychology· difficulty 3/5

Replicating Festinger and Carlsmith, students performed a tedious peg-turning task and were paid either 1or1 or20 to tell a waiting student the task was enjoyable. Students paid 1laterratedthetaskasmoreenjoyablethanstudentspaid1 later rated the task as more enjoyable than students paid20. Both groups initially reported the task as boring.

The higher enjoyment ratings in the $1 group are best explained by:

  • A

    Cognitive dissonance reduction through changing private attitudes

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  • B

    Operant reinforcement of enjoyable behavior

  • C

    Social facilitation by the listener

  • D

    Group polarization

Explanation

With insufficient external justification (1),participantsexperienceddissonancebetween"Ilied"and"Iamhonest,"andreduceditbyshiftingattitudestoalignwiththeirbehavior.The1), participants experienced dissonance between "I lied" and "I am honest," and reduced it by shifting attitudes to align with their behavior. The20 group had ample external justification.

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