Festinger & Carlsmith experiment

The Festinger & Carlsmith experiment tested how assigning a boring task influences people’s attitudes. Participants performed a tedious task and were asked to tell the next participant it was fun. Some were paid $1, others $20, to do so. Interestingly, those paid only $1 experienced more internal dissonance—they couldn’t justify lying for a small amount and convinced themselves the task was enjoyable to reduce discomfort. In contrast, the $20 group felt it was just a job for money and did not change their attitude. This demonstrated that insufficient external justification can lead people to change their attitudes to align with their actions.