In a Variation of the "Forbidden Toy" Experiment by Aronson

In a variation of the "forbidden toy" experiment by Aronson and Carlsmith (1963) , another researcher issued mild and severe threats to prevent children from playing with a very attractive toy. Several weeks later, a woman came to the school, allegedly to administer tests to the children. When she left the room to score the tests, children were left alone with the same attractive toy and other less attractive toys. Almost 80 percent of the children who were issued severe threats by the researcher played with the attractive toy; only 30 percent of those children issued mild threats succumbed to temptation. This experiment is noteworthy because it demonstrated that __________.

A) like preschoolers, older children work to reduce dissonance
B) attempts to reduce dissonance yield long-lasting attitude and behavior change
C) a sense of self is necessary for dissonance to be aroused and subsequently reduced
D) excessive external justification for restraint can produce dissonance and attitude change