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Reducing Cognitive Dissonance Through Effort Justification: Evidence from Past Studies and Daily Experience

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Reducing Cognitive Dissonance Through Effort Justification: Evidence from Past Studies and Daily Experience © 2013 WUPJ, September 2013, Volume 1 Social Reducing Cognitive Dissonance Through Effort Justification: Evidence From Past Studies and Daily Experience Kristin H. G. Maich* The present paper defines and examines past research in the area of cognitive dissonance and provides evidence for the occurrence of effort justification in animals, including humans. The ways in which cognitive dissonance and effort justification occur in everyday life are then discussed. People generally consider the behaviour to determine their attitude towards experience of tension to be both undesirable and that goal. If much effort has been spent in the unsustainable, thus people seek to reduce attainment of a goal, it should come to be seen tension when it occurs. The phenomenon of as worthwhile and therefore more attractive. A cognitive dissonance occurs when an individual reward’s perceived value is augmented in order simultaneously holds two inconsistent to justify any arduousness involved in its cognitions as true (Festinger, 1957). acquisition (Zentall, 2010). This process Dissonance between cognitions manifests as minimizes cognitive dissonance. tension-inducing psychological discomfort, The present paper will examine past which motivates an individual to reduce research in the area of cognitive dissonance and dissonance in order to establish psychological provide evidence for the occurrence of effort consistency. In general, people attempt to avoid justification in animals, including humans. This situations that may result in cognitive paper will then demonstrate how cognitive dissonance. According to Festinger, when dissonance and effort justification may occur in dissonance does occur, people attempt to reduce everyday life. it in one of three ways: change one of the dissonant cognitions; add new cognitions that Evidence for the Effort Justification Effect are consonant with what one already believes; or Justifying the Effort of Weight Loss Therapy decrease the perceived importance of the Seeking to expand upon prior research, dissonant cognition. Axsom and Cooper (1985) investigated the Effort justification is a way of changing workings of weight loss therapy in high and low the value of existing cognitions, and is one effort expenditure conditions. Participants were method by which humans may attempt to reduce individuals who responded to newspaper dissonance. Individuals often expend much advertisements recruiting individuals interested effort in pursuit of objectives they deem to be in potential new weight loss methods. The important. Previous literature has demonstrated sample consisted entirely of volunteers. The that the amount of energy put towards the experimenters examined the relationship achievement of a goal may play a role in the between the amount of effort expended and development or change of an individual’s subsequent immediate and later weight change. attitude towards that goal. The value of an It was predicted that compared to those in low attitude target may be judged relative to the effort and control conditions, participants who effort expended in its acquisition (Zentall, freely chose to take part in the high effort 2010); that is, one is motivated to place more therapy sessions would later display the greatest value on a goal that has required greater effort to amount of weight loss. The researchers further achieve. Axsom and Cooper (1985) posited that hypothesized that the weight loss experienced if indeed an objective (or the avenue via which a by the high effort participants would have an goal is obtained) is not initially attractive, an enduring effect over time. individual may later look to their own past *Initially submitted for Psychology 3723F at the University of Western Ontario. For inquiries regarding the article, please email the author at [email protected]. EVIDENCE FOR EFFORT JUSTIFICATION The researchers had aimed to examine participants. As predicted, Festinger and the effect of choice on effort justification, but all Carlsmith found that opinion change (i.e., participants reported a high level of freedom to enjoyability of the task from bad to good) was participate. Thus, the choice manipulation did the largest in participants who were given a not have an effect on reported freedom of smaller reward (one dollar) than in those given a choice. However, the effort justification larger reward (20 dollars). Because there was paradigm holds that freedom of choice should less external reason (i.e., less money) for be high in order for cognitive dissonance to take participants to champion the study in the one- place, and since this is precisely the sentiment dollar condition, the researchers proposed that expressed by the majority of the participants, the level of cognitive dissonance was highest Axsom and Cooper deemed the findings valid. when participants did act to endorse the study in As hypothesized, after three weeks, weight loss this condition. Therefore, these participants was significantly greater in the high effort group were more motivated than the participants in the compared to the other groups. The major low dissonance (i.e., more money) condition to finding was that this weight loss was reduce dissonance. To reduce the dissonance, maintained, and indeed, was even greater, by the researchers asserted, participants justified participants in the high effort condition after 6 their effort by changing their own attitude and 12 months. In comparison, low effort and towards the experiment. Festinger and Carlsmith control groups had not lost a significant amount concluded that the tendency to change one’s of weight. Axsom and Cooper concluded that opinion according to what one was induced to the high effort group’s degree of weight change say is dependent on the amount of pressure felt was both significant and consistent with the by the individual. If the pressure was higher, cognitive dissonance effect. Their findings have such as in the greater monetary reward major implications for psychotherapy because of condition, the attitude change was weaker; if the the long-lasting nature of the study’s results. If pressure was weaker and the individuals felt effort justification effectively produces an their words were voluntarily spoken, the desire enduring change in something as tangible as to reduce dissonance drove them to change their weight, then it may have similar effects when attitude so as to correspond to their behaviours. applied to other psychological concepts, such decrease in frequency of negative thoughts or Effort Justification Occurs in Rats stress reduction in therapeutic scenarios. Recently, researchers have proposed that Simply by putting much effort into a course of the occurrence of effort justification may be less therapy sessions, individuals may be assisting of a conscious process than previously expected. the process of their own attitude change. Lydall, Gilmour, and Dwyer (2010) pointed to past studies demonstrating that behaviour- Early Evidence Effort Justification in induced attitude change existed in monkeys, Humans children, and amnesiacs to support their Long before research found a suggestion that effort justification might be an relationship between effort justification and automatic, not conscious, process. To determine weight loss, cognitive dissonance theorist Leon whether complex cognitions are necessary for Festinger and his colleague, James Carlsmith the occurrence of effort justification processes, substantiated the effort justification effect in an Lydall et al. examined dissonance reduction in experiment involving high or low payment sums rats, expanding upon preliminary findings to participants for their contribution to a observed by Lawrence and Festinger (as cited in lengthy, boring assignment (1959). Keeping the Lydall et al., 2010, p. 1135). Using 16 male participants blind to the true purpose of the rats, Lydall et al. defined high effort as the study, the researchers asked participants to act condition in which rats had to press a lever 50 as proponents for a tedious task they had already times before receiving a sucrose reward, and completed, promoting it to other possible low effort as receiving the reward after only 10 EVIDENCE FOR EFFORT JUSTIFICATION presses of the lever. They also introduced area of research that presently requires more waiting time as a variable: in two other attention. conditions, rats were not required to press a lever to receive the sucrose reward, they merely Experiences of Effort Justification waited the same amount of time as it took for Personal Experience the other groups to complete either 10 or 50 Upon graduating from university, a lever presses. Replicating the findings of friend of mine, Sadie, found herself uncertain Axsom and Cooper (1985) and Festinger and about what career path she wanted to pursue. Carlsmith (1959), Lydall et al. (2010) found that She took a temporary part-time job working at a rats in the high effort condition judged the restaurant. After a few months, she decided to sucrose reward to be significantly more write the Law School Admissions Test (LSAT). palatable than did rats in the low effort Her mother was a lawyer, and all the lawyers condition. They further found that rats that had she knew lived comfortable lifestyles; it seemed to work the lever valued the sucrose reward like a safe choice. Sadie spent the autumn higher than those who simply waited for their studying for the LSAT, and despised it. She reward. The researchers concluded that the constantly complained about it, especially
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