托福口语 Task 3

In psychology, the concept of 'cognitive dissonance' refers to the mental discomfort experienced when an individual holds two conflicting beliefs, attitudes, or behaviors. To reduce this discomfort, people often change their beliefs or rationalize their actions to align with their behavior. This process helps restore internal consistency and is a powerful motivator for attitude change.

Professor: Let me give you an example from a study. A group of students was asked to perform a very boring task, like turning pegs on a board, for an hour. Afterward, some were paid $1, while others were paid $20. When asked to rate the task, those paid only $1 rated it as more enjoyable than those paid $20. Why? Because the $1 group had insufficient external justification for lying about the task being fun. To reduce their dissonance, they convinced themselves the task was actually interesting. In contrast, the $20 group had enough external justification, so they felt no need to change their attitude.