Manipulating someone’s behavior as a means of changing their attitudes seems counter-intuitive, but it works. Aronson and Mills (1959) demonstrated its success in an experiment in which they randomly assigned female participants to undergo a severe, a mild, or no “embarrassing test” prior to their admittance into a group discussion about sex. Upon completion of the test, the females were given a taste of what the group was like. They were allowed to listen in on a “meeting,” which was in fact a tape recording of a boring discussion on sex behavior in lower animals. Interestingly, they found that the females who experienced the most embarrassing initiation test were the females that indicated they liked the discussion the most. This experiment exemplifies effort justification, or the tendency that the more you pay for something the more you will come to like it.

When we were talking about this concept in class I immediately thought of the Saw movies. I’m sure everyone is familiar with the movies, but the general idea behind them is that anyone who has to fight for their life will treasure and value their life more. The video clip I attached shows the opening scene of the second movie (I think) and includes Jigsaw telling the group of people what they’re going to have to do if they want to live. The clip concludes with Amanda arguing that although they’re being tested, he wants them to survive. Although this is an extreme example I think it demonstrates the concept of effort justification perfectly. After fighting for your life you’ll know what it would feel like to know you’re dying, and value everything you do that much more.

Perhaps unknowingly my dad has recently begun drawing on the principles underlying effort justification (in ways completely unrelated to Jigsaw’s). Although I’ve always been able to ask him for a little extra cash, he now responds to my requests with “Sure, how much would you like to borrow?” It makes me think twice about how much I really want whatever I was planning on using the money for. Rather than acquiring whatever it was without much effort, I have to go further into debt to my father (Southwestern is expensive enough!). Then, when I make money waiting tables I don’t get to spend it, instead I have to give it back to my dad receiving nothing in return. That effort ensures that I sure do love whatever I go through all that to get.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D90YBQ_lrRk

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.