“I Know What I Have to Do, But…” When Hypocrisy Leads to Behavioral Change

Hypocrisy procedure has been used to induce behavioral change in a wide variety of areas including water conservation, condom use, and donations for homeless people. Hypocrisy implies the articulation of two factors: advocating a prosocial position and being made mindful of failures to behave according to that advocacy. This dissonance leads to a behavioral change which is the most efficient way to restore the self, in line with the self-consistency conception of dissonance. The aim of this study was to refine this procedure in a new setting: road safety area and specifically respect for speed limits. Moreover, we used a feedback threatening versus strengthening people's self-concept. The results suggest that threatening the self-concept enhances the hypocritical effect.