Students of a college in Lucknow spent an hour on a very dull task of sorting beads. Each student was then asked to tell the next participant, waiting outside, that the task was very interesting. Half of them were paid Rs. 20 for saying this; the other half were paid Rs. 1,000. Three weeks later, a different researcher asked all of them to recall the task and rate how interesting they had really found it. The study was planned on the lines of a classic experiment on telling a lie for twenty dollars.
A Rs. 20 participant later says, 'I would not have told a lie for only Rs. 20.' What does this changed thought do?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → It brings his thoughts in line with each other, so his dissonance is reduced.
Option (1) It brings his thoughts in line with each other, so his dissonance is reduced. — Correct. The Rs. 20 participant is like the book's $1 group: the sum is too small to justify the lie. By now holding that he did not lie, his thoughts stop clashing, so his dissonance is reduced.
Option (2) It adds a new conflict between his thoughts, so his dissonance grows. — Incorrect. The changed thought removes the clash between 'the task was boring' and 'I said it was interesting'. It reduces dissonance; it does not add a new conflict.
Option (3) It shows that the payment was enough reason for the lie, so he felt no dissonance. — Incorrect. Treating the payment as enough reason fits the $20 group, which felt no dissonance. Rs. 20 is a tiny sum, so it cannot justify the lie.
Option (4) It shows that he first identified with the researcher and then copied a change. — Incorrect. Identifying with a source and then copying its change is Mohsin's two-step concept. Here the change comes from his own clashing thoughts.
NCERT (2026-27): “Factors that Influence Attitude Change … “After participating in a very boring experiment, a group of students were asked to tell another group of students waiting outside that the experiment was very interesting. For telling this lie to the waiting students, half of the first group of students was paid $ 1, and the other half were paid $ 20. After some weeks, the participants of the boring experiment were asked to recall the experiment, and to say how interesting they had found that experiment to be. The responses showed that the $ 1 group described the experiment as more interesting than the $ 20 group. The explanation was : the $ 1 students changed their attitude towards the experiment because they experienced cognitive dissonance. The changed cognitions would be:” ““The experiment was actually interesting” ; “I told the waiting students that it was interesting” ; “I would not have told a lie for only $ 1.” … (Dissonance reduced)” |