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cognition
You are more likely to lie for a small reward.
A 1959 study showed that people are more willing to perform a dull task for a small incentive if they convince themselves the task is actually interesting.
When the reward is insufficient to justify the behavior, we experience cognitive dissonance. To resolve this, we change our internal attitude toward the task to align with our actions, convincing ourselves we enjoyed it.
We align our beliefs to justify our efforts.
Where this comes from
- Study
- Festinger and Carlsmith (1959)
- What the check found
- The study demonstrates that insufficient external justification leads to internal attitude change. While the claim frames this as 'willingness', it accurately captures the mechanism of the Festinger and Carlsmith experiment.
- Confidence
- Well replicated
Related
One of these every day, and every one names the study it came from. When a finding is contested, it says so.