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> Force students through an embarrassing initiation to take a class, and they’ll insist the class is much more interesting. Does anyone know which experiment h

by di 14y ago

> Force students through an embarrassing initiation to take a class, and they’ll insist the class is much more interesting. Does anyone know which experiment he is referencing here?

jeremyjh 14y ago
There are so many studies like this it is hard to say which one specifically he may be referring to. There is a mountain of literature on the topic; as usual, Wikipedia is a good place to start: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_dissonance http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_dissonance
- mistercow 14y ago
  It frustrates me a little when people conflate cognitive dissonance with effects caused by dissonance reduction, like in this article. Cognitive dissonance is simply the uncomfortable experience of believing two conflicting things. Dissonance reduction is the class of biases that we use to reduce that discomfort.
theorique 14y ago
It sounds like the bonding process for (e.g.) fraternity hazing, or the Marines. I don't have specific cites, but I do recall reading this in various psychology texts.
ryanmolden 14y ago
I seem to recall reading this in Thinking Fast and Slow[1], but I can't find an online citation and only have the book in dead-tree form at home. I suspect it falls into this general realm: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effort_justification http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effort_justification edit: Specifically I believe I recall this (from the linked Wikipedia page) in Thinking Fast and Slow: One of the first and most classic examples of effort justification is Aronson and Mills's study.[2] A group of young women who volunteered to join a discussion group on the topic "Psychology of Sex" were asked to do a small reading test to make sure they were not too embarrassed to talk about sexual-related topics with others. The mild-embarrassment condition subjects were asked to read aloud a list of sex-related words such as "prostitute" or "virgin". The severe-embarrassment condition subjects were asked to read aloud a list of highly sexual words (e.g. "fuck", "cock") and to read two vivid descriptions of sexual activity taken from contemporary novels. All subjects then listened to a recording of a discussion about "Sexual Behavior in Animals" which was dull and unappealing. When asked to rate the group and its members, control and mild-embarrassment groups did not differ, but the severe-embarrassment group's ratings were significantly higher. This group, whose initiation process was more difficult (embarrassment = effort), had to increase their subjective value of the discussion group to resolve the dissonance. The cited study is: Aronson, E., & Mills, J. (1959) The effect of severity of initiation on liking for a group. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology ,59, 177-181. [1] http://www.amazon.com/Thinking-Fast-Slow-Daniel-Kahneman/dp/0374275637/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1346094018&sr=8-1&keywords=Thinking+fast+and+slow http://www.amazon.com/Thinking-Fast-Slow-Daniel-Kahneman/dp/...

by di 14y ago

> Force students through an embarrassing initiation to take a class, and they’ll insist the class is much more interesting. Does anyone know which experiment he is referencing here?

jeremyjh 14y ago

There are so many studies like this it is hard to say which one specifically he may be referring to. There is a mountain of literature on the topic; as usual, Wikipedia is a good place to start: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_dissonance http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_dissonance

mistercow 14y ago
It frustrates me a little when people conflate cognitive dissonance with effects caused by dissonance reduction, like in this article. Cognitive dissonance is simply the uncomfortable experience of believing two conflicting things. Dissonance reduction is the class of biases that we use to reduce that discomfort.

theorique 14y ago

It sounds like the bonding process for (e.g.) fraternity hazing, or the Marines. I don't have specific cites, but I do recall reading this in various psychology texts.

ryanmolden 14y ago

I seem to recall reading this in Thinking Fast and Slow[1], but I can't find an online citation and only have the book in dead-tree form at home. I suspect it falls into this general realm: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effort_justification http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effort_justification edit: Specifically I believe I recall this (from the linked Wikipedia page) in Thinking Fast and Slow: One of the first and most classic examples of effort justification is Aronson and Mills's study.[2] A group of young women who volunteered to join a discussion group on the topic "Psychology of Sex" were asked to do a small reading test to make sure they were not too embarrassed to talk about sexual-related topics with others. The mild-embarrassment condition subjects were asked to read aloud a list of sex-related words such as "prostitute" or "virgin". The severe-embarrassment condition subjects were asked to read aloud a list of highly sexual words (e.g. "fuck", "cock") and to read two vivid descriptions of sexual activity taken from contemporary novels. All subjects then listened to a recording of a discussion about "Sexual Behavior in Animals" which was dull and unappealing. When asked to rate the group and its members, control and mild-embarrassment groups did not differ, but the severe-embarrassment group's ratings were significantly higher. This group, whose initiation process was more difficult (embarrassment = effort), had to increase their subjective value of the discussion group to resolve the dissonance. The cited study is: Aronson, E., & Mills, J. (1959) The effect of severity of initiation on liking for a group. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology ,59, 177-181. [1] http://www.amazon.com/Thinking-Fast-Slow-Daniel-Kahneman/dp/0374275637/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1346094018&sr=8-1&keywords=Thinking+fast+and+slow http://www.amazon.com/Thinking-Fast-Slow-Daniel-Kahneman/dp/...