We come to love what we suffer for; this concept is known as effort justification (Aronson & Mills, 1959). The “effort” can be many different things including physical exertion, money spent, time spent, and so on (Aronson & Mills, 1959). I have definitely justified my effort many, many times. Most recently I have justified the mass amounts of time I have spent crafting Delta things for my little. We have initiation this week and I had to make her paddle in addition to other random “cutsie” things, like picture frames, blankets, etc. My initial attitude leading into the whole crafting scene was that I don’t like crafting; I am too much of a perfectionist or something so I end up taking FOREVER to finish things and I seriously doubt my artistic abilities. However, the past couple of days I have found myself to be crafting a lot. Working on her paddle was my first project and probably the most time consuming activity. Yet because I spent so much time on it that by the time I finished my little’s paddle I had convinced myself that I was an amazing crafter and that I really enjoyed doing crafting! And it was from that point on (the completion of the paddle) that I decided to continue making other Delta things. My attitude towards craft projects had changed from a negative outlook to a positive one; my effort justification had inspired me to continue crafting!
Aronson, E., & Mills, J. (1959). The effect of severity of initiation on liking for a group. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 59, 177-181.
I have definitely had the same experience crafting things for my little in my sorority. I totally came to love crafting, and I think it was because I did so much of it that I convinced myself that I must have liked it. I liked the things that I crafted more because I spent so much time making them.
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