Q: How do you increase job satisfaction for a very dull, monotonous
task?
A: Pay them less…?!...
Festinger & Carlsmith (1959) proposed the theory of
cognitive dissonance in order to explain compliance behaviour to requests as a
need to ensure our beliefs and behaviours are consistent. When we carry out behaviour
inconsistent to our beliefs, we may alter our beliefs to match the behaviour.
To test this, Festinger & Carlsmith took several groups
of participants, made them carry out a very boring and monotonous task – all in
the name of science – paying them either $1 or $20 and asked them to try to
convince the following participant that the experiment was in fact highly
enjoyable.
Common sense would have us predict that those in the $20
condition would be more convincing in telling others that the experiment was
enjoyable as they came away with a decent reward. However, results show (Table
1) that in fact those in the $1 condition rated the task as more enjoyable,
more important to science and would be more likely to participate in a similar
boring experiment!
According to the theory of cognitive dissonance, those in the
$20 condition were able to justify their behaviour with the reward for $20 and
so admitted to finding the task boring. However, those in the $1 condition were
faced with greater cognitive dissonance as they were unable to use monetary
gains as justification of their actions and so created a justification of task
enjoyment.
Probably most applicable in practice and important to note
from this research is that participants opted to change their views to fit
behaviours which have been requested of the and not freely chosen. Thus in
terms of application for changing people’s attitudes and encouraging
compliance, simply getting someone to perform a behaviour may be enough and
effects will likely be more profound if no clear justification (i.e. money) is
given.
For example, a child who is sent to visit an old grandparent whom they
find boring may be more likely to continue the behaviour of their own accord than
if they are bribed with lots of sweets. The child may justify their behaviour as
enjoying visiting their grandparent, rather than simply as a hoop to jump
through to get a sugar fix and so adjust their future behaviour to fit this
schema.
References
Festinger, L., & Carlsmith, J. M.
(1959). Cognitive consequences of forced compliance. The Journal of Abnormal and Social
Psychology, 58(2), 203-210.
Fiona Angell
Interesting and very well written.
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