Pasiak, Cassandra A. L
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Audience: Undergraduate. -- Dissertation: Thesis (B. A.). -- Algoma University, 2008. -- Submitted in partial fulfillment of course requirements for PSYC 4105.
Cognitive dissonance is a state of psychological discomfort that arises when an individual holds contradictory cognitions. Induced compliance, a type of dissonance, occurs when participants are given the choice to engage in dissonant behaviour. This thesis intends to determine what the effect of induced compliance is on evaluations of unattractive individuals, by generating dissonance in participants during their evaluations of others. Participants rated photographs of a highly attractive, moderately attractive, and an unattractive target and then engaged in a dissonant task. Participants were either instructed to complete a survey regarding their recycling habits (low-choice condition, no information control group) or were given the option to refuse to complete the survey (high-choice condition). Both experimental conditions were lead to believe that completing the survey would directly benefit the unattractive target. The results indicate that there was no significant difference in the high-choice participants’ social desirability ratings of the unattractive target compared to the no-choice participants nor was there a significant difference in the social desirability ratings of the highly attractive and unattractive targets. Possible reasons for the non-significant results are discussed.
