A mother is trying to get her child to behave in the store and to stop running around, yelling, and grabbing things off the shelves. According to cognitive dissonance theory, if she wants to stop the child's behavior immediately for the time being, she should use a __________, but if she wants to more permanently change the behavior, she should use a __________.
A) bribe; punishment
B) small reward; large punishment
C) large punishment; small punishment
D) large punishment; large reward

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

A large punishment can stop the behavior immediately, but a small punishment is more effective for long-term behavior change as it creates cognitive dissonance, leading the child to internally justify the behavior change.

A Mother Is Trying to Get Her Child to Behave