托福口语 Task 3

The concept of "cognitive dissonance" refers to the mental discomfort experienced when an individual holds two or more contradictory beliefs, values, or attitudes at the same time. According to psychologist Leon Festinger, people are motivated to reduce this dissonance by changing their beliefs, adding new cognitions, or minimizing the importance of the conflict. This often leads to rationalization, where individuals justify their behavior to align with their existing attitudes, thereby restoring internal consistency and psychological comfort.

Professor: Let me give you a classic example from a study by Festinger and Carlsmith. Participants performed a very boring task—turning pegs on a board for an hour. Afterward, they were asked to tell the next participant that the task was enjoyable. Some were paid $1, others $20. Those paid $20 felt little dissonance because the large reward justified their lie. But those paid only $1 experienced strong dissonance: they had lied for a trivial amount. To reduce this discomfort, they actually changed their attitude and convinced themselves the task was interesting. So instead of admitting they lied for a dollar, they rationalized, 'I guess it wasn't so bad.' This shows how we align our beliefs to reduce dissonance.