Effort Justification

Definition

Effort justification is the idea that when people make sacrifices to pursue a goal, the effort is often rationalized by elevating the attractiveness of the goal. In other words, people sometimes come to love what they suffer to achieve. The effort justification hypothesis is derived from cognitive dissonance, one of the best-known theories in social psychology. Dissonance theory emphasizes how inconsistencies among important cognitions can be motivating, often by bringing one's attitudes in line with one's behavior. It has been broadly applied. With effort justification, the potentially dissonance-arousing question is whether the sacrifices one is making to achieve a goal are worth it.

The definition of effort used by dissonance theorists has been broad. It includes not only the literal expenditure of physical and mental energy but also sacrifices such as payment of a fee and enduring embarrassment. From the standpoint of the effort justification hypothesis, the exact nature of the effort is less important than its magnitude. In fact, some evidence suggests that, once a person is committed to a course of action, the mere anticipation of effort can lead to justification even before the effort is actually undertaken. Regardless of the nature of the effort or whether it is actual or anticipated, the underlying, dissonance-based logic is the same: motivated thinking to rationalize the effort.

A straightforward effort justification prediction that has been supported by research is that the more effort that is expended on a task, the more the task will be liked. For example, when participants in an experiment are asked to perform a task such as circling numbers, the task is subsequently liked more when undertaken with instructions that make it high (vs. low) in effort.

Applications: Group Initiation Rituals

The relevance of effort justification for such processes as initiation into groups was evident early in cognitive dissonance research. In a classic experiment, participants were asked to pass an embarrassment-based screening test before being admitted into a discussion group on sex. The test was in fact bogus (all participants passed), but it allowed for a manipulation of effort required to enter the group. Participants who underwent [Page 277]a highly embarrassing screening subsequently rated both the group members and the discussion as significantly more interesting than did participants who undertook a mildly embarrassing screening (or no screening at all).

If effort enhances liking for, and commitment to, the group, it is easy to understand why many groups have initiation rituals that one must pass before becoming a full-fledged member. Hazing is a long-standing practice associated with Greek organizations in college and sports teams more generally. Military boot camps are grueling trials through which soldiers must pass. And anthropology provides many examples of societies that require difficult, and sometimes dangerous, rites of passage between adolescence and adulthood. From the standpoint of effort justification, these diverse activities accomplish a common outcome: greater attraction to the group.

Applications: Psychotherapy

Although psychotherapy can be undertaken for many reasons and can take many forms—cognitive behavioral, psychodynamic, individual, group—in each case the client is required to expend effort to achieve a goal. If effort justification results in enhanced goal attractiveness, then the process might serve as a common factor that contributes to the success of diverse therapies.

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