Banting, Kevin
1.09 MB of textual records (PDF)
Audience: Undergraduate. -- Dissertation: Thesis (B. A.). -- Algoma University, 1996. -- Submitted in partial fulfillment of course requirements for PSYC 4105. -- Includes figures. -- Contents: Literature review / Thesis.
Do individuals attribute more cognitive dissonance factors on self reports when more losses than wins have occurred in a risk taking situation? I examined a differential memory of wins and losses which could be justified by cognitive dissonance theory in a gambling scenario. Participants playing a computerized gambling game similar to Black-jack won 70%, 50% and 30% of the trials. After 50 hands were completed, participants were asked to complete a self report. This self report asked the participants to rate how successful they had been, from completely successful to completely unsuccessful. They were asked to agree or disagree to various statements or justifications that might alleviate dissonance. It was hypothesized that participants in the groups with the lower winning percentages would either (A) inflate their memory of wins or (B) agree more with statements that were asked specifically to reduce cognitive dissonance. Results indicated that people in the lower winning groups did have an inflated recall of wins. As well, individuals in the lowest winning group did agree more with statements that were issued to reduce cognitive dissonance.
