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How and Why We Lie to Ourselves: Cognitive Dissonance

Serious Face
[Photo by Darwin Bell]

A classic 1959 social psychology experiment demonstrates how and why we lie to
ourselves. Understanding this experiment sheds a brilliant light on the dark world of
our inner motivations.

The ground-breaking social psychological experiment of Festinger and Carlsmith
(1959) provides a central insight into the stories we tell ourselves about why we think
and behave the way we do. The experiment is filled with ingenious deception so the
best way to understand it is to imagine you are taking part. So sit back, relax and
travel back. The time is 1959 and you are an undergraduate student at Stanford
University...

As part of your course you agree to take part in an experiment on 'measures of
performance'. You are told the experiment will take two hours. As you are required to
act as an experimental subject for a certain number of hours in a year - this will be
two more of them out of the way.

Little do you know, the experiment will actually become a classic in social psychology.
And what will seem to you like accidents by the experimenters are all part of a
carefully controlled deception. For now though, you are innocent.
The set-up

Once in the lab you are told the experiment is about how your expectations affect the
actual experience of a task. Apparently there are two groups and in the other group
they have been given a particular expectation about the study. To instil the
expectation subtly, the participants in the other groups are informally briefed by a
student who has apparently just completed the task. In your group, though, you'll do
the task with no expectations.

Perhaps you wonder why you're being told all this, but nevertheless it makes it seem
a bit more exciting now that you know some of the mechanics behind the
experiment.

So you settle down to the first task you are given, and quickly realise it is extremely
boring. You are asked to move some spools around in a box for half an hour, then
for the next half an hour you move pegs around a board. Frankly, watching paint dry
would have been preferable.

At the end of the tasks the experimenter thanks you for taking part, then tells you
that many other people find the task pretty interesting. This is a little confusing - the
task was very boring. Whatever. You let it pass.
Experimental slip-up

Then the experimenter looks a little embarrassed and starts to explain haltingly that
there's been a cock-up. He says they need your help. The participant coming in after
you is in the other condition they mentioned before you did the task - the condition in
which they have an expectation before carrying out the task. This expectation is that
the task is actually really interesting. Unfortunately the person who usually sets up
their expectation hasn't turned up.

So, they ask if you wouldn't mind doing it. Not only that but they offer to pay you $1.
Because it's 1959 and you're a student this is not completely insignificant for only a
few minutes work. And, they tell you that they can use you again in the future. It
sounds like easy money so you agree to take part. This is great - what started out as
a simple fulfilment of a course component has unearthed a little ready cash for you.

You are quickly introduced to the next participant who is about to do the same task
you just completed. As instructed you tell her that the task she's about to do is really
interesting. She smiles, thanks you and disappears off into the test room. You feel a
pang of regret for getting her hopes up. Then the experimenter returns, thanks you
again, and once again tells you that many people enjoy the task and hopes you
found it interesting.

Then you are ushered through to another room where you are interviewed about the
experiment you've just done. One of the questions asks you about how interesting
the task was that you were given to do. This makes you pause for a minute and
think.

Now it seems to you that the task wasn't as boring as you first thought. You start to
see how even the repetitive movements of the spools and pegs had a certain
symmetrical beauty. And it was all in the name of science after all. This was a
worthwhile endeavour and you hope the experimenters get some interesting results
out of it.

The task still couldn't be classified as great fun, but perhaps it wasn't that bad. You
figure that, on reflection, it wasn't as bad as you first thought. You rate it moderately
interesting.

After the experiment you go and talk to your friend who was also doing the
experiment. Comparing notes you found that your experiences were almost identical
except for one vital difference. She was offered way more than you to brief the next
student: $20! This is when it first occurs to you that there's been some trickery at
work here.

You ask her about the task with the spools and pegs:

"Oh," she replies. "That was sooooo boring, I gave it the lowest rating possible."

"No," you insist. "It wasn't that bad. Actually when you think about it, it was pretty
interesting."

She looks at you incredulously.

What the hell is going on?
Cognitive dissonance

What you've just experienced is the power of cognitive dissonance. Social
psychologists studying cognitive dissonance are interested in the way we deal with
two thoughts that contradict each other - and how we deal with this contradiction.

In this case: you thought the task was boring to start off with then you were paid to
tell someone else the task was interesting. But, you're not the kind of person to
casually go around lying to people. So how can you resolve your view of yourself as
an honest person with lying to the next participant? The amount of money you were
paid hardly salves your conscience - it was nice but not that nice.

Your mind resolves this conundrum by deciding that actually the study was pretty
interesting after all. You are helped to this conclusion by the experimenter who tells
you other people also thought the study was pretty interesting.

Your friend, meanwhile, has no need of these mental machinations. She merely
thinks to herself: I've been paid $20 to lie, that's a small fortune for a student like
me, and more than justifies my fibbing. The task was boring and still is boring
whatever the experimenter tells me.
A beautiful theory

Since this experiment numerous studies of cognitive dissonance have been carried
out and the effect is well-established. Its beauty is that it explains so many of our
everyday behaviours. Here are some examples provided by Morton Hunt in his classic
work 'The Story of Psychology':

* When trying to join a group, the harder they make the barriers to entry, the
more you value your membership. To resolve the dissonance between the hoops you
were forced to jump through, and the reality of what turns out to be a pretty
average club, we convince ourselves the club is, in fact, fantastic.
* People will interpret the same information in radically different ways to support
their own views of the world. When deciding our view on a contentious point, we
conveniently forget what jars with our own theory and remember everything that fits.
* People quickly adjust their values to fit their behaviour, even when it is clearly
immoral. Those stealing from their employer will claim that "Everyone does it" so they
would be losing out if they didn't, or alternatively that "I'm underpaid so I deserve a
little extra on the side."

Once you start to think about it, the list of situations in which people resolve cognitive
dissonance through rationalisations becomes ever longer and longer. If you're honest
with yourself, I'm sure you can think of many times when you've done it yourself. I
know I can.

Being aware of this can help us avoid falling foul of the most dangerous
consequences of cognitive dissonance: believing our own lies.

» You can read Festinger and Carlsmith's entire report at Classics in the History of
Psychology.

» Read on for the best social psychology studies

Reference

Festinger, L., & Carlsmith, J. (1959). Cognitive consequences of forced compliance.
Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 58, 203-10.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

http://www.spring.org.uk/2007/11/10-piercing-insights-into-human-nature.php

Why We do Dumb or Irrational Things: 10 Brilliant Social Psychology Studies

Head Turned
[Photo by Ayres no graces]

"I have been primarily interested in how and why ordinary people do unusual things,
things that seem alien to their natures. Why do good people sometimes act evil? Why
do smart people sometimes do dumb or irrational things?" --Philip Zimbardo

Like eminent social psychologist Professor Philip Zimbardo, I'm also obsessed with
why we do dumb or irrational things. The answer quite often is because of other
people - something social psychologists have comprehensively shown.

Over the past few months I've been describing 10 of the most influential social
psychology studies. Each one tells a unique, insightful story relevant to all our lives,
every day.

1. The Halo Effect: When Your Own Mind is a Mystery

The 'halo effect' is a classic finding in social psychology. It is the idea that global
evaluations about a person (e.g. she is likeable) bleed over into judgements about
their specific traits (e.g. she is intelligent). Hollywood stars demonstrate the halo
effect perfectly. Because they are often attractive and likeable we naturally assume
they are also intelligent, friendly, display good judgement and so on.

» Read on about the halo effect -»
2. How and Why We Lie to Ourselves: Cognitive Dissonance

The ground-breaking social psychological experiment of Festinger and Carlsmith
(1959) provides a central insight into the stories we tell ourselves about why we think
and behave the way we do. The experiment is filled with ingenious deception so the
best way to understand it is to imagine you are taking part. So sit back, relax and
travel back. The time is 1959 and you are an undergraduate student at Stanford
University...

» Read on about cognitive dissonance -»
3. War, Peace and the Role of Power in Sherif's Robbers Cave Experiment

The Robbers Cave experiment, a classic study of prejudice and conflict, has at least
one hidden story. The well-known story emerged in the decades following the
experiment as textbook writers adopted a particular retelling. With repetition people
soon accepted this story as reality, forgetting it is just one version of events, one
interpretation of a complex series of studies.

» Read on about Sherif's Robbers Cave experiment -»
4. Our Dark Hearts: The Stanford Prison Experiment

The famous 'Stanford Prison Experiment' argues a strong case for the power of the
situation in determining human behaviour. Not only that but this experiment has also
inspired a novel, two films, countless TV programs, re-enactments and even a band.

» Read on about Zimbardo's Stanford prison experiment -»
5. Just Following Orders? Stanley Milgram's Obedience Experiment

What psychological experiment could be so powerful that simply taking part might
change your view of yourself and human nature? What experimental procedure
could provoke some people to profuse sweating and trembling, leaving 10%
extremely upset, while others broke into unexplained hysterical laughter?

» Read on about Milgram's obedience studies -»
6. Why We All Stink as Intuitive Psychologists: The False Consensus Bias

Many people quite naturally believe they are good 'intuitive psychologists', thinking it
is relatively easy to predict other people's attitudes and behaviours. We each have
information built up from countless previous experiences involving both ourselves and
others so surely we should have solid insights? No such luck.

» Read on about the false consensus bias -»
7. Why Groups and Prejudices Form So Easily: Social Identity Theory

People's behaviour in groups is fascinating and frequently disturbing. As soon as
humans are bunched together in groups we start to do odd things: copy other
members of our group, favour members of own group over others, look for a leader
to worship and fight other groups.

» Read on about why groups and prejudices form so easily -»
8. How to Avoid a Bad Bargain: Don't Threaten

Bargaining is one of those activities we often engage in without quite realising it. It
doesn't just happen in the boardroom, or when we ask our boss for a raise or down
at the market, it happens every time we want to reach an agreement with someone.
This agreement could be as simple as choosing a restaurant with a friend, or
deciding which TV channel to watch. At the other end of the scale, bargaining can
affect the fate of nations.

» Read on about how communication and threats affect bargaining -»
9. Why We Don't Help Others: Bystander Apathy

In social psychology the 'bystander effect' is the surprising finding that the mere
presence of other people inhibits our own helping behaviours in an emergency. John
Darley and Bibb Latane were inspired to investigate emergency helping behaviours
after the murder of Kitty Genovese in 1964.

» Read on about bystander apathy -»
10. I Can't Believe My Eyes: Conforming to the Norm

We all know that humans are natural born conformers - we copy each other's dress
sense, ways of talking and attitudes, often without a second thought. But exactly how
far does this conformity go? Do you think it is possible you would deny unambiguous
information from your own senses just to conform with other people?

» Read on about Asch's classic conformity study -»

? Now read: 10 more brilliant social psychology studies and vote for your favourite.

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