Compliance
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Compliance
Compliance involves changing what you say or do because of a direct request from someone who has no authority over you.
How is compliance brought about?
Many people believe that the direct approach is always best: if you want something, ask for it. But salespeople, political strategists, social psychologist, and other experts on the subject have learned that often-best way to get something is to ask for something else. This strategy often takes two or three forms: the foot in the door technique, the door in the face strategy, or the low ball approach.
The foot in the door technique consists of beginning with small requests and working up to larger ones. Its name comes from an experiment in which homeowners in a wealthy California neighborhood were approached in one of two ways. In some cases, the experimenter claimed to represent a group concerned with reducing traffic accidents in the community and asked the homeowners if a large and unattractive "Drive Carefully" sign could be placed on their front lawn. Approximately 17 percent of the people approached in this way complied with the request. In foot-in-the-door condition, homeowners were first asked only to sign a petition urging their legislators to work towards decreasing the number of accidents in the community...