Compliance-gaining

Psychology and communication studies can help conservators to examine the impact of gender, the expectations of others and the components of credibility. A small selections of theories from psychology are used to analyse the way that people expect others to communicate and the impact on situations where expectations are breached. The research suggests that conservators can improve their persuasiveness by increasing their understanding of the views of those that they try to influence. In addition the conservator can critically assess their own behaviour and consider if it is likely to have a positive or negative outcome. Being aware of some of the issues that affect persuasiveness allows the conservator to analyse puzzling responses and gives them the opportunity, if they choose it, to adapt their image or style. A fuller discussion on the meaning of the terms and the relationship between 'source', 'message' and 'receivers' is reported elsewhere . To summarise, persuasion research suggests that each element of a persuasive encounter: the source, (e.g. the conservator) the message, (e.g. control light levels), the receiver (e.g. the designer) and the context (e.g. a planning meeting), will have a bearing on the likely

The Door-in-the-Face (DITF) compliance-gaining tactic occurs when a large request, expected to be rejected, is followed by a more reasonable request that is granted. The mechanisms underlying the DITF strategy remain unclear. Researchers have posed different explanations for the effectiveness of DITF, including the reciprocal concessions and the social responsibility models. These theoretical rationales for DITF were tested in a 3 (request type: initial request only, DITF sequence, small request only) )2 (initial request size: moderate, large))2 (solicitor familiarity: friend, stranger) betweenparticipants experiment. Findings from the compliance data are mostly consistent with the reciprocal concessions model; but, findings from the cognitive and affective data were mixed. It appears that DITF messages are perceived as a helping situation for friends, but not for strangers. Strangers view request messages of all sizes to be a negotiation, but friends see these requests as a negotiation only when the initial request is large.

Foot in the door and door in the face have been cited frequently as effective strategies for gaining compliance with behavioral requests. However, research efforts to confirm these two phenomena have produced mixed results. After deriving predictions about how the favorability of available information influences compliance, the authors report a synthesis of research results for both paradigms. Combined effect sizes across research results for several moderating variables are compiled. Implications for theoretical, empirical, and practical application of the syntheses are discussed. Effectiveness of Multiple Request Strategies: A Synthesis of Research Results Twenty years ago Freedman and Fraser (1966) asked, "How can a person be induced to do something he would rather not do?" Since then, more than 50 studies have sought the answer through research following one of two paradigms, the foot in the door (FITD) and/or the door in the face (DITF). This research tradition has not been programmatic and as a result some mediating variables and theoretical explanations have been given more research attention than others. Therefore, it is not surprising to fmd little agreement as to what conditions are necessary to produce statistically significant differences in compliance with behavioral request strategies. Both strategies are attempts to obtain behavioral compliance through the use of sequential requests. In the footin-the-door paradigm, the first request is relatively small and all or a large majority of people agree to comply. The small request is followed by a larger request, called the "critical request," which is actually the target behavior. Operationally, the door in the face is the reverse strategy, in that the initial request is relatively very large and all or a large majority of people refuse to comply. The large request is followed by a smaller request, the critical request, which is the target behavior.

The legitimization of paltry favors effect (LPF) is a sequential persuasion tactic whereby small contributions toward some overall compliance-gaining goal are linguistically minimized. An experiment was conducted to test whether self-presentation concerns or barrier removal better explains the LPF. Participants (N ¼ 145) were approached and asked to volunteer for international student programs. Message strategy (LPF=no LPF) and beneficiary party (first-person=third-person) were varied. The data revealed neither main effects for message strategy or beneficiary party, nor any interaction between these variables. Results question the generality of the LPF, as well as the appropriateness of utilizing the LPF in volunteer solicitation efforts. Limitations and implications are discussed.

The disrupt-then-reframe (DTR) technique (Davis and Knowles 1999) uses a subtle disruption followed by an immediate reframing to increase compliance. Similarly, Ward and Brenner (2006) found that acknowledging a negative quality can result in less negative evaluations of the quality. In two experiments, we investigate possible extensions and boundary conditions related to this research. Experiment 1 extends the DTR effect into a new, non-monetary marketing related domain (technical jargon). Experiment 2 demonstrates the effectiveness of negative acknowledgement in reducing negative perceptions while increasing overall product evaluation, but only for individuals who are high in need for structure.

Boster et al.'s (2006) dimensions of diffusion ability were used to determine if the argumentation of superdiffusers of health information (those who are well-connected, persuasive, and knowledgeable about healthy lifestyles) is different from those who are not. In Study 1, 164 undergraduates completed the measures of diffusion ability. They were then asked how they would try to persuade a target either to lose weight or to avoid smoking. The scenario they were given was either simple or complex. For the participants who responded to the avoiding smoking scenario a 2 (superdiffuser or not) X 2 (scenario complexity: simple or complex) interaction was found such that superdiffusers who responded to the complex scenario produced more arguments, more overall themes in their arguments, and addressed more elements of the scenario than any of the other three groups. Superdiffusers produced more arguments when they responded to the weight loss scenario. A second study was conducted with 35 participants who were interviewed about their beliefs on dieting. Their responses were coded for argument complexity. Superdiffusers produced more complex arguments than non-superdiffusers. In sum, results indicated that superdiffusers argue in ways that would facilitate the effective diffusion of health information.

The compliance-gaining research has produced numerous studies to explore the unique nature of the types of compliance-gaining strategies individuals use in interpersonal relationships (Cody, McLaughlin, & Jordan, 1980; Falbo, 1977; Johnson, 1976). Specifically, Miller and Steinberg (1975) found that individuals will rely on psychological information about the other person when deciding what type of compliance-gaining to employ in the interpersonal context. As a result, those involved in intimate interpersonal relationships will rely on their level of intimacy to guide their decisions of compliance-gaining strategy choice. Furthermore, they will rely on this knowledge about their partner to determine what means of compliance-gaining will produce the most beneficial method for resolving conflict situations (Miller, Boster, Roloff, & Siebold, 1977). Upon investigating the communication patterns of abusive couples, Infante, Chandler-Sabourin, Rudd, and Shannon (1990) found that individuals involved in violent relationships communicate differently that nonviolent couples when in a dispute. In another investigation initially advanced by Infante, Chandler, and Rudd (1989), an Argumentative Skills Deficiency Model of Interspousal Violence (ASD) was developed in which they found that spouses involved in violent relationships are less argumentative and tend to resort to using verbal aggression more often that nonviolent couples. Other researchers have posited an extension of the ASD model which included addressing the relationship between verbal aggression and argumentativeness to compliance-gaining strategy choice by battered women (Rudd, Burant, & Beatty, 1994). Also, the results of this study revealed that battered women report employing certain types of compliance-gaining strategies (i.e. ingratiation, promise, explanation, and deceit) during disputes with their partners. Thus, advancing our understanding of how one's choice of compliance-gaining strategies reflects not only a relationship to argumentativeness and verbal aggression, but also reflects the complexity of the ASD model in studies regarding family violence.

Although previous studies of the foot-in-the-door and the door-in-the-face techniques of interpersonal influence have established the effectiveness of these sequential request strategies, communication researchers have not discovered an adequate conceptual framework for explaining their compliance-enhancing properties. The present study tests the perceptual contrast explanation for sequential request efficacy. Compared with nonsequenced critical requests (i.e., controls), substantially higher compliance with various types of requests was obtained through the use of the foot-in-the-door and the door-in-the-face techniques, but measures of underlying cognitions failed to reveal significant anchoring effects as would be predicted by a perceptual contrast model. Limitations are discussed and suggestions for future research are offered.

This study assesses the utility of a compliance-gaining approach for coding messages produced in a set of "request "situations experimentally varied by status andfamiliarity of the requestee and by size of the request. The results indicate that altruism, and, to a lesser extent, certain positive sanction and argument strategies, are usedpredominately in these situations. Strategy usage also varies signipcantly as a function of speaker (subject) and type of situation. However, closer examination of the discourse indicates that important strategic variations. especially ones related to speech act felicity conditions and the satisfaction of 'yace wants"distinct from the goal of compliance, are not captured very well within the compliance-gaining framework. to do what one wants is perhaps the single most essential skill for participating in society. People, however, do not seem to possess this skill in equal measure. Some do it very well; others, terribly. Unfortunately, the consequences of not performing this communicative act successfully may be severe. Labov and Fanshel(l977) put it this way: A failure to make requests appropriately or respond to them appropriately is often cited as evidence that the party cannot fill the social role he has been claiming. (p. 94)

This study assesses the utility of a compliance-gaining approach for coding messages produced in a set of "request "situations experimentally varied by status andfamiliarity of the requestee and by size of the request. The results indicate that altruism, and, to a lesser extent, certain positive sanction and argument strategies, are usedpredominately in these situations. Strategy usage also varies signipcantly as a function of speaker (subject) and type of situation. However, closer examination of the discourse indicates that important strategic variations. especially ones related to speech act felicity conditions and the satisfaction of 'yace wants"distinct from the goal of compliance, are not captured very well within the compliance-gaining framework. to do what one wants is perhaps the single most essential skill for participating in society. People, however, do not seem to possess this skill in equal measure. Some do it very well; others, terribly. Unfortunately, the consequences of not performing this communicative act successfully may be severe. Labov and Fanshel(l977) put it this way: A failure to make requests appropriately or respond to them appropriately is often cited as evidence that the party cannot fill the social role he has been claiming. (p. 94)

This study compared the effectiveness of 2 types of patriotic messages with a warmth/ ingratiation message and a control condition on restaurant tipping. Two female food servers waited on 100 parties eating dinner. When diners were finished with their meals, servers left them 1 of 4 messages on their checks: "Have a Nice Day," "God Bless America," "United We Stand," or no message. Results indicated that parties who received the "United We Stand" message left significantly higher tips than did those receiving no message or the "Have a Nice Day" message. No other significant differences were found. These results and their implications are discussed.

The purpose of this study was to identify diabetics' accounts for medical noncompliance, physicians' compliance-gaining strategies elicited in response to those accounts, and to examine the relationship between accounts and compliance-gaining strategies. Telephone surveys of diabetics from Kentucky and Tennessee assessed patient perceptions of physician-patient communication during their last diabetes treatment-related appointment. Eighty-four patients were able to provide categorical data for analysis. Patient account strategies for noncompliance were coded as concessions, excuses, justifications, and refusals. Physician compliance-gaining strategies were coded as positive-regard, negative-regard, or neutral-regard strategies. Results showed the most common patient account was concession (33%), then excuse (23%), justification (22%), and refusal (7%). The most common physician compliance-gaining strategy was neutral regard (54%), then positive regard (31%) and negative regard (15%). Results also indicated that patient account and physician compliance-gaining strategy were related. Specifically, concession accounts from patients elicited a subsequent neutral-regard compliance-gaining strategies from the physician in 76% of concession cases. Results also show that justifications were most likely to elicit neutral-(52%) or positive-regard (43%) strategies. Implications for physician practice and future research are discussed.

Preference for consistency (PFC) refers to individual differences in the desire to be congruent, to be perceived as such, and the preference for others to be consistent. There are studies that show PFC as a moderator of consistency-based social influence strategies. The present article proposes PFC as a moderator of the social influence technique known as “door-in-the-face” (DITF), and suggests that DITF effectiveness also depends on consistency processes. The results of our study (N = 191) indicate that although the DITF effect was generally strong, the technique was most effective when PFC was low. These results are in line with theoretical assumptions that posit a preference for consistency. Low PFC individuals prefer change and unpredictability, and therefore tend to display inconsistent behaviour. As a consequence, their refusal of an initial request leads to a higher probability that they will consent to the target one. These results are the first to show individual differences in DITF and reliance on (in)consistency in the effectiveness of the technique.

This research examined reports of the real-world use of reverse psychology, or what we term strategic self-anticonformity (SSA). In Study 1, participants reported examples in which they engaged in SSA and rated the success and frequency of use of this influence tactic. These data suggested the existence of two forms of SSA, one used as a general persuasion tactic and one used specifically to garner interpersonal reassurance. Study 2 compared the prevalence of these two forms of SSA with the use of three previously established influence tactics (i.e., door-in-the-face, foot-in-the-door, and disrupt-then-reframe). The results suggest that SSA is a prevalent, realworld influence tactic deserving of further study.

It is proposed that the existing relationship between the influencing agent and the target of influence plays a central role in the choice zyxwvu of using hard and soft influence tactics. In a field study, 3 key aspects of the relation between agent and target were examined. and the results generally supported our hypotheses. First, the more unfairly people felt they were treated, the more often they wielded influence, especially using harder influence tactics. Second. the better the influencing agent liked the target. the relatively less often he or she used hard tactics. Finally, the more the influencing agent felt dependent upon the target, the fewer influence tactics, both hard and soft, were used. The discussion focuses on both the practical and theoretical implications of these findings.

Previous research has revealed that individuals have expectations for the deuelopment of romance based on personal experience  and cultural images. A series of research questions and hypotheses was generated and a sequence of hierarchical log-linear analysis models was developed to test of a) the effect of gender and knowledge of relational stage and relationship type on prediction of next-occurring actions in the development of a romance, b) the use of compliance-gaining strategies intended to advance a relationship to the next stage, and c) justification of secondary goals in which participants reported why they chose the strategies they did as opposed to other alternatives. The data revealed effects for relational stage progression on prediction of ensuing actions. Ingratiation, explanation, and direct requests were popular strategies for developing intimacy. Gender differences in terms of secondary goals were reported. Results are discussed in terms of relational memory structures for the development
of intimacy.

Across six field and lab experiments, we found that impaired self-control fosters compliance with charitable requests. Experiments 1 and 2 showed that self-regulatory resource depletion was induced when participants yielded to the initial requests of a foot-in-the-door script aimed at procuring volunteer behavior. Experiment 3 demonstrated that self-regulatory resource depletion mediated the effects of yielding to the initial requests of a foot-in-the-door technique on compliance with a charitable target request. Experiments 4-6 demonstrated that weak temporary and chronic self-control ability fostered compliance through reliance on compliance-promoting heuristics (i.e., reciprocity, liking, and consistency).

The present research extends previous findings suggesting that sequential request techniques, such as the Foot-in-the-Door (FITD) or Door-in-the-Face (DITF) technique, are primarily effective under conditions conducive of mindlessness. We forward that this mindlessness may be the product of the influence technique itself. More specifically, based on the notion of self-control as a limited resource, we hypothesize that actively responding to the initial request-phase of a FITDcompliance gaining procedure drains the target of his/her self-regulatory resources, thus creating the mindlessness so often observed in social influence settings. This resource depletion opens the door for compliance with the target request. The results were in line with these expectations. More specifically, we observed that active responding to an initial request of a FITD technique reduced the availability of selfregulatory resources. This state of resource depletion mediated the effect of the technique on behavioral compliance. In addition, the results of this study ruled out the alternate explanation that the effects were attributable to mood or a general tendency for acquiescence.

This research examined reports of the real-world use of reverse psychology, or what we term strategic self-anticonformity (SSA). In Study 1, participants reported examples in which they engaged in SSA and rated the success and frequency of use of this influence tactic. These data suggested the existence of two forms of SSA, one used as a general persuasion tactic and one used specifically to garner interpersonal reassurance. Study 2 compared the prevalence of these two forms of SSA with the use of three previously established influence tactics (i.e., door-in-the-face, foot-in-the-door, and disrupt-then-reframe). The results suggest that SSA is a prevalent, realworld influence tactic deserving of further study.

A theoretical framework involving argumentativeness, verbal aggressiveness, and affirming style is employed to predict the degrees of negative affect subordinates report their superiors are willing to stimulate by the use of compliance-gaining message strategies. A model of compliance-gaining message selection by Hunter and Boster was used to derive predictions. A study of subordinates' perceptions of their superiors was conducted to test a model that posits that high verbally aggressive traits of superiors, along with low argumentative and low affirming traits, increases superiors' willingness to stimulate negative affect by the use of compliance-gaining messages, which also reduces subordinates' satisfaction with their superiors. The results of the study produced considerable support for the speculations. The perceived communication traits of superiors predicted reports of the superiors' use of compliance-gaining strategies. These strategies attributed to superiors also predicted subordinates' satisfaction with their supervisors.

The goal of this investigation was to explore different communication methods used to reach and convince women to adopt an important daily health routine that is, for lack of a better word, boring. The results of this effort will be used to aid campaign efforts designed to increase multivitamin consumption in college-aged women, thereby aiming to reduce the number of birth defects in children born to this population. College-aged women (n = 92) reported preferring interpersonal communication channels over media when seeking information and being persuaded by messages regarding multivitamins. Multivitamin users were compared with non-users regarding sources of information and compliance strategies. Promise and positive altercasting were the preferred compliance-gaining strategies. Paper implications suggest campaigns should target mothers rather than spending resources to directly persuade their college-aged daughters.

This article reviews extant theory and empirical research on compliance gaining messages. First, the process of selecting and producing such messages is examined. A number of factors (e. g., communicator characteristics and goals) that influence this process are discussed. Second, various principles, strategies, and variables related to effective compliance gaining are reviewed, including verbal and nonverbal approaches, sequential persuasion tactics, and motivational appeals. Finally, avenues for future work are discussed.

Although politeness theory offers one explanation for how threats to face arise during compliance-gaining episodes, it neither predicts the conditions under which seeking compliance will create multiple face threats nor explains how such threats arise within specific contexts. The authors challenge and revise politeness theory by analyzing potential implications for both parties' face when the logical preconditions for seeking compliance are framed by specific influence goals. In a test of a revised analysis of face threats, young adults imagined asking favors, giving advice, and enforcing obligations with same-sex friends. Perceived face threats, interaction goals, and message qualities varied substantially across compliance-gaining situations defined by these goals. Directions for exploring the identity implications of influence goals across relationships and cultures are discussed.

T he scientific study of the process of social influence has been under way for well over half a century, beginning in earnest with the propaganda, public information and persuasion programs of World War II. Since that time, numerous social scientists have investigated the ways in which one individual can influence another's attitudes and actions. For the past 30 years, I have participated in that endeavor, concentrating primarily on the major factors that bring about a specific form of behavior changecompliance with a request. Six basic tendencies of human behavior come into play in generating a positive response: reciprocation, consistency, social validation, liking, authority and scarcity. As these six tendencies help to govern our business dealings, our societal involvements and our personal relationships, knowledge of the rules of persuasion can truly be thought of as empowerment.

Since O' Barr and his associates' work (1982) powerful and powerless speech styles have been extensively studied. A powerless speech style is one where a speaker uses hedges, hesitations, intensifiers, tag questions, polite forms, and deictic phrases. A powerful style is the relative absence of these features. While there are a few exceptions (e.g. , most studies indicate that a powerless speech style produces negative evaluations of a speaker's competence, authoritativeness, and social attractiveness (cf. .