Some Effects of the Confirmation and Disconfirmation of an Expected Monetary Reward on Compliance

Summary Subjects had their expectation of pay for serving in a conformity experiment disconfirmed by receiving amounts either greater or lesser than were expected, while control subjects received their expected pay. The dissonance theory prediction of an energization of either compliance or noncompliance was not obtained, nor support given to social-exchange-theory predictions of conformity as a direct function of pay level. No differences in conformity behavior or tendencies to respond to questionnaires in a socially desirable direction were obtained between high and low scoring Ss on the Marlowe-Crowne SD (7). The finding of no differences in conformity between Ss judged aware of the manipulations and those unaware might be mediated by a general predisposition to seek and comply with demands in an experimental setting.