Leon Festinger · 1959
Cognitive Dissonance Exp
Paid $1 vs $20 to lie. Who believed their own lie? The $1 group. The brain tricks itself to match actions.
Methodology
Boring Task:
• Turning knobs for an hour
Bribe:
• Pay $1 or $20 to tell next person "It was fun"
Survey:
• How fun was it really?
Findings
Fun Rating:
• $20 Group: Boring (No change)
• $1 Group: "It was actually fun" (+1.35)
Why?
• $20: "I lied for money" (Justification)
• $1: "I lied for $1? No... I must have liked it."
• Changed attitude to match behavior
Significance
Insight:
• We rationalize our actions
• Hard-to-get things are valued more (Effort justification)