Cognitive Dissonance: A Consequence of Induced Compliance, or An Effect of the Researcher’s Expectations?

This study focused on the expectations of experimenters in the field of cognitive dissonance, more specifically that of the influence of declarations of subjects’ freedom of choice within the so-called “tedious task” paradigm. It demonstrates that the cognitive rationalization effect may result from a researcher’s confirmation bias. Before they conducted an experiment using the tedious task paradigm, two groups of researchers were exposed to two contrasting types of theoretical expectations: the same classic hypothesis was presented either as controversial or as non-controversial. The results indicated that the classic hypothesis was confirmed only when it was presented as being non-controversial. We discuss these results in the light of methodological and epistemological consequences, emphasizing the importance of a meta-experimental approach.