ホーム
TOEFL iBT
TOEFL問題
The Psychology of Cognitive Dissonance

Reading

The Psychology of Cognitive Dissonance

psychologysocial sciencesociology

難しい

Reading Passage

Paragraph 1

The theory of cognitive dissonance, proposed by psychologist Leon Festinger in 1957, addresses the feeling of mental discomfort that results from holding two or more conflicting beliefs, values, or attitudes, or from behaving in a way that contradicts one's beliefs. This discomfort, or 'dissonance,' acts as a powerful motivator, compelling individuals to take steps to reduce it. The theory posits that people have a fundamental drive to maintain psychological consistency. When this consistency is challenged, the resulting dissonance creates a state of tension that is psychologically unpleasant, prompting an effort to achieve a more consonant state.

Paragraph 2

There are several ways an individual can reduce cognitive dissonance. The most direct method is to change one of the dissonant cognitions. For example, a person who believes smoking is unhealthy but continues to smoke can reduce dissonance by quitting smoking, thus aligning their behavior with their belief. A second method is to acquire new information or beliefs that outweigh the dissonant ones. The smoker might actively seek out stories of people who smoked their whole lives and lived to be 100, thereby minimizing the perceived health risk. A third, and often easier, method is to reduce the importance of the conflicting cognitions. The smoker might tell themselves, 'The health risks from smoking are trivial compared to the risk of a car accident,' or 'I value the short-term pleasure of smoking more than the potential for a long life.'

Paragraph 3

One of the classic experiments demonstrating cognitive dissonance is the 'induced compliance' study conducted by Festinger and Merrill Carlsmith in 1959. In this experiment, student participants were asked to perform a series of excruciatingly boring and repetitive tasks. Afterwards, they were asked to tell the next participant waiting outside that the tasks were actually very enjoyable. Some participants were paid $1 (a very small amount at the time) to do this, while another group was paid$ 20 (a substantial amount). The key finding was that after the experiment, the participants who were paid only $1 rated the boring tasks as significantly more enjoyable than those who were paid$ 20.

Paragraph 4

The explanation for this counterintuitive result lies in the magnitude of the dissonance experienced. The students who were paid $20 had a clear and sufficient external justification for their lie. They could tell themselves, 'I knew the task was boring, but I was paid a lot of money to say it was fun.' This large payment resolved the dissonance between their belief (the task was boring) and their behavior (saying it was fun). However, the students paid only$ 1 had insufficient external justification. The $1 reward was not enough to justify the lie, creating a high degree of cognitive dissonance. To resolve this discomfort, they had to change their internal cognition: they subconsciously convinced themselves that the task must not have been so boring after all. This internal re-evaluation made their lie feel more like the truth, thus reducing the dissonance.

Paragraph 5

The implications of cognitive dissonance are far-reaching, explaining a wide range of human behaviors. It helps us understand why people often increase their commitment to a chosen course of action after making a difficult decision (post-decision dissonance), why they tend to value things more highly if they have had to suffer or work hard to attain them (effort justification), and why people may resist information that contradicts their deeply held beliefs. The theory reveals that humans are not always rational beings; rather, we are often 'rationalizing' beings, driven to construct a narrative of consistency even if it means distorting our own beliefs and perceptions of reality.

Q1Vocabulary

The word 'excruciatingly' in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to...

slightly

interestingly

usefully

extremely

Q2Vocabulary

The word 'counterintuitive' in paragraph 4 is closest in meaning to...

contrary to what one would expect

matching a common belief

having a negative outcome

easy to understand

Q3Detail

According to paragraph 2, which of the following is a method for reducing cognitive dissonance?

Ignoring the feeling of discomfort until it goes away.

Seeking out information that increases the conflict.

Changing one's behavior to align with one's beliefs.

Acknowledging that one's beliefs and behaviors are inconsistent.

Q4Inference

What can be inferred about the participants who were paid $20 in the Festinger and Carlsmith study?

They felt a strong need to convince themselves that the task was enjoyable.

They experienced very little cognitive dissonance.

They were more likely to lie in the future for a small amount of money.

They believed the experimenter was being unfair by paying them so much.

Q5Detail

Why did the participants who were paid only $1 rate the boring task as more enjoyable?

Because they felt sorry for the experimenter.

Because they wanted to be chosen for future experiments with higher pay.

Because they had insufficient external justification for their lie, so they changed their internal belief to reduce dissonance.

Because the group paid $20 was annoyed that the task was so boring for such high pay.

Q6Rhetorical Purpose

In paragraph 5, why does the author distinguish between being 'rational' and 'rationalizing'?

To suggest that cognitive dissonance theory has been proven to be incorrect.

To emphasize that people are primarily driven by logic and evidence.

To highlight the theory's main point that people are motivated to create consistency, even if it means distorting reality.

To argue that humans are incapable of rational thought.

Q7Inference

Based on the theory of effort justification mentioned in paragraph 5, what would you expect a person who went through a difficult initiation to join a group to think?

They would regret joining the group.

They would value their membership in the group more highly than someone who joined easily.

They would feel that the initiation was not actually very difficult.

They would resent the other members of the group.

Q8Detail

What is the central concept of the theory of cognitive dissonance, according to paragraph 1?

People are motivated to act in ways that are inconsistent with their beliefs.

People experience mental discomfort from conflicting beliefs and are motivated to reduce it.

People are most comfortable when faced with a wide variety of conflicting ideas.

Mental discomfort is a rare condition experienced only by a few people.

Q9Sentence Insertion

Look at the four squares [■] that indicate where the following sentence could be added to paragraph 2. Where would the sentence best fit?

Sentence to Insert:

This is often the most difficult path, as changing ingrained habits can be challenging.

Paragraph with insertion points:

There are several ways an individual can reduce cognitive dissonance. The most direct method is to change one of the dissonant cognitions. [■] For example, a person who believes smoking is unhealthy but continues to smoke can reduce dissonance by quitting smoking, thus aligning their behavior with their belief. [■] A second method is to acquire new information or beliefs that outweigh the dissonant ones. The smoker might actively seek out stories of people who smoked their whole lives and lived to be 100, thereby minimizing the perceived health risk. [■] A third, and often easier, method is to reduce the importance of the conflicting cognitions. The smoker might tell themselves, 'The health risks from smoking are trivial compared to the risk of a car accident,' or 'I value the short-term pleasure of smoking more than the potential for a long life.' [■]

First square

Second square

Third square

Fourth square

Q10Prose Summary

An introductory sentence for a brief summary of the passage is provided below. Complete the summary by selecting the THREE answer choices that express the most important ideas in the passage. Some sentences do not belong in the summary because they express ideas that are not presented in the passage or are minor ideas in the passage. This question is worth 2 points.

Summary Introduction:

Cognitive dissonance is a theory explaining that people are driven to reduce the mental discomfort caused by inconsistencies between their beliefs and actions.

Select 3 answer choices that express the most important ideas in the passage. This question is worth 2 points.

3つ選択してください0 / 3 選択済み

APeople can reduce dissonance by changing their behavior, changing their beliefs, or minimizing the importance of the conflict.BThe theory was proven by an experiment where people who received a large monetary reward for a boring task reported enjoying it more.CClassic experiments show that when there is insufficient external justification for a behavior, people will change their internal attitudes to reduce dissonance.DThe theory suggests that humans are not always rational, but are instead motivated to rationalize their behaviors to create a sense of consistency.EEffort justification is the most common and powerful form of cognitive dissonance.FThe theory of cognitive dissonance applies only to important, life-changing decisions.

3個中0個を選択済み