A Japanese psychologist by the name of Sakai observed participants partaking in dissonance-reducing behaviors. Sakai also had a fellow group member of the participants observe the dissonance-reducing behavior. The observer then indicated how enjoyable he or she thought a boring task was. These results suggest that Japanese observers __________.
A) attended to what their fellow group members said, and ignored the task itself
B) have no internally based attitudes; those are a Western cultural phenomenon
C) experienced dissonance on behalf of fellow members of their group
D) wanted to show solidarity with the experimenter by saying the task was enjoyable

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The results suggest that the Japanese observers experienced dissonance on behalf of fellow members of their group. This means that they were aware of the dissonance-reducing behavior and the boring nature of the task, which created a conflict in their own beliefs and attitudes. Their discomfort was therefore based on their internal attitudes and beliefs, indicating that internal attitudes are not exclusively a Western cultural phenomenon.

A Japanese Psychologist by the Name of Sakai Observed Participants