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C O PY R I G H T © 2 0 1 4 P E A R S O N E D U C AT I O N , I N C . A L L R I G H T S R E S E RV E D 1Prepared by Robert Gass & John Seiter

Pre-Giving

Favors and gifts create a sense of indebtedness

Regan’s (1971): a confederate, Joe, bought another student a Coke

The student was more amenable to purchasing raffle tickets

Returning favors is culturally universal

Beware of unfair exchanges example: a male buys a female three drinks in a

bar. Does she “owe” him anything in return?

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Befriending your neighbor

Ned fixes Earl’s sprinkler, then asks to borrow Earl’s lawnmower

Political favors Campaign contributions buy

access to a politician, if not votes

Panhandling tour guides Panhandlers volunteer

directions to tourists, then ask for a tip

Pregiving in sales A company gives important

clients free tickets to a ball game

Doing the dishes as “foreplay”

A husband does the dishes, hoping to put the wife in a good mood

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PREGIVING ILLUSTRATIONS

The liking explanation

The pregiver is perceived as a good, kind person

Best used when the return favor is for a good cause

Physical attractiveness explanation

Do-gooders are perceived to be more attractive

Perceived ulterior motives explanation

Obvious attempts to curry favor are less successful

The gratitude explanation

The pregiver evokes “good vibes”

Best used when the return favor benefits the pregiver

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WHY DOES PREGIVING WORK SO WELL?

WHY IS PREGIVING SO EFFECTIVE?

Norm of reciprocity Favors create a sense of indebtedness Impression management: People want to

maintain a positive image Internalized social norm: Repaying favors is

seen as the right thing to do

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THE “FOOT IN THE DOOR” STRATEGY (FITD)A person who agrees to a small, initial request is more likely to comply with a subsequent larger request

Freedman & Fraser’s (1966) classic study initial request: housewives were asked to

display a small sign in their window that read “Be a safe driver.”

follow-up request: housewives were later asked to display a large billboard that read “Drive Carefully” in the front yard

results: 17% of the “control” housewives complied, compared to 76% of the FITD housewives

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THEORETICAL EXPLANATIONSFOR THE “FITD”

Bem’s self-perception theory: People make self-attributions based on their own behavior

Gorassini & Olson: Self perception is not the only explanation for the FITD

The requestee may consider whether others would reject the request.

activating relevant attitudes is important (“you are so thoughtful.” “You are so generous.”)

Compliance is lower if a person believes others would be unlikely to comply

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Size of the 1st request Must be small enough to

ensure compliance, but not so small as to appear trivial

Prosocial requests The strategy works best

with prosocial causes

No external incentives There should be no external

inducements such as payment or rewards

Who makes the request The 1st and 2nd requests

need not be made by the same requester

Social labeling Positive labels help activate

relevant attitudes

Who answers the door People with a high need for

consistency are more susceptible

People with high self-concept clarity are more susceptible

Time Delay A time delay between the

1st and 2nd requests may help activate relevant attitudes

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KEYS TO THE FITD STRATEGY

THE “FOOT IN THE MOUTH” (FITM) STRATEGYFoot in the mouth:

Acknowledging that one is in a good mood predisposes a person to be more agreeable

Telemarketers: “How are you today?” Food servers: “What beautiful weather we’re

having!” Warm-Up act: “Who’s ready to have fun? I can’t

hear you. Who is ready to have some FUN?”

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THE “DOOR IN THE FACE” STRATEGY (DITF)A person is presented with an initial, large request which she/he is inclined to reject

The person thereby becomes more likely to acquiesce to a second, more reasonable request.

Cialdini & Ascani’s (1976) study: initial request: college dorm residents were asked

to donate one unit of blood every two months for a period of three years

follow-up request: dorm residents were asked to give blood once, the next day

results: compliance for the DITF group was 49%, versus 31% for the control group

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perceptual contrast phenomenon

The 2nd request seems much more reasonable by comparison

self-presentation explanation

The target doesn’t want to be perceived negatively by others

reciprocal concessions The target perceives

he/she is engaged in a bargaining situation

guilt-based explanation

The target feels guilty for not being helpful

social responsibility position

We comply based on our own, internal standards

Note: at present, it isn’t clear which of these explanations best accounts for the research findings

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THEORETICAL EXPLANATIONS FOR THE “DITF”

Size of the initial request

The 1st request must be large enough to be rejected, but not ludicrous

Prosocial Requests The strategy works best

with prosocial causes

Time Delay The 2nd request should

follow right after the 1st

Who makes the request The 1st and 2nd requests

must be made by the same requester

Size of the follow-up request

The 2nd request must be unambiguously smaller than the 1st

Who answers the door DITF works best with

“exchange-oriented” people

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KEYS TO THE DITF STRATEGY

THE “THAT’S NOT ALL” TACTIC

But wait, there’s more…” The “that’s not all strategy” sweetens the deal Free extras add perceived value to an offer “Order now, and I’ll throw in…” Often combined with the scarcity principle “The first 20 callers will also receive…” Effectiveness is based on reciprocity and contrasting

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THE “LOWBALL” TACTIC

The low ball technique Lowballing involves making an offer that sounds too

good to be true There may be outright deception; “There was a mistake

in the ad, the wine is $19.99 per bottle, not $1.99” There may “hidden strings” attached; the advertised

price for a cruise doesn’t include tips, shore excursions, alternative dining, onboard activities, internet, etc.

Once the consumer is psychologically committed, it is hard to back out a credit card has a low interest rate, but only for a

few months fine print in a low airfare ad (“some restrictions may

apply”) car ads that list a low interest “for highly qualified

buyers”Effectiveness is based on

psychological commitment unfulfilled obligations

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THE “BAIT-AND-SWITCH” TACTIC

Bait & Switch An offer is made that seems too good to be true When the consumer tries to buy the low-priced item,

the item is no longer available The consumer is persuaded to purchase a more

expensive item instead The strategy is common in retail sales

“Sorry, we’re out of your size, but…” “That model is actually a piece of junk. For just a bit

more, you can get…” “Would you like to upgrade that ticket?”

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The low ball tactic changes the original deal or adds conditions to the existing deal

The consumer is buying the same product or service, but at a much higher price

The low ball operates after the target becomes psychologically committed

The bait & switch involves a completely different deal, an alternative product or course of action

The consumer winds up buying a different product or service at a higher price

The bait lures the target in before she/he is psychologically committed

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LOW BALL VS. BAIT & SWITCH

Disrupting and reframing is a diversionary tactic

A quirky statement disrupts cognitive processing

“My soccer team’s candy is $5. That’s only 500 pennies.”

The disruption inhibits counterarguing.

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THE “DISRUPT-THEN-REFRAME” (DTR) STRATEGY

This strategy pre-empts potential objections

“Even a penny will help!”

“No donation is too small.”

The strategy induces guilt if the target declines

The strategy produces a large quantity of smaller donations

Donors tend to give more than the minimum, however

This strategy may be less effective for requests to donate time, rather than money

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LEGITIMIZING PALTRY CONTRIBUTIONS

The relief that follows a scare can make people more receptive to persuasion

Police interrogations often rely on the “good cop, bad cop” routine

After a brow-beating by the bad cop, the good cop uses ingratiation to put the suspect at ease

The suspect let’s his/her guard down with the good cop

Lola’s car is idling roughly. She takes it to her mechanic.

The mechanic looks under the hood and mutters, “uh oh…that’s not good.”

Lola experiences a moment of panic. She dreads a huge repair bill.

“Wait,” the mechanic says, “it’s just a loose spark-plug wire.”

Feeling relieved, she says, “Great!”

“However,” the mechanic says, “you need new spark plug wires. These are cracking.”

Lola is likely to jump at the chance for a smaller repair.

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THE “FEAR-THEN RELIEF” PROCEDURE

An emotional see-saw from good to bad also increases compliance

The sudden withdrawal of positive emotion disrupts cognitive processing.

A person thinks she or he has found a $20 bill on the ground.

It turns out to be a flier.

Following the disappointment, the person is more likely to comply with a request.

The shift in emotions temporarily disrupts cognitive processing.

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THE “HAPPINESS THEN DISAPPOINTMENT” STRATEGY

Nawrat and Dalinski’s (2007) study illustrates this approach

Some students were led to believe they received an “A” on an assignment

The instructor then announced “There’s been a mistake.”

Students were then informed the high grade belonged to a student in another class

The students were then given their correct grade, a “C.”

Students who experienced an emotional see-saw were more likely to volunteer for a school activity, for more hours, than students who weren’t mislead

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THE “HAPPINESS THEN DISAPPOINTMENT” STRATEGY

THE DUMP-AND-CHASE STRATEGY

Persistence pays off

A salesperson who counters each objection raised by a customer may wear the customer down

Salesperson: “This model of cordless drill is 20% off today.”

Customer: “I can’t afford it, even at the sale price.”

Salesperson: “No worries, if you apply for a credit account today, you’ll get an extra 15% off.”

Customer: “I don’t need any more credit card debt.”

Salesperson: “I hear you. What if there were a cheaper model that’s also on sale?”

Customer: “Well, maybe. What else have you got?”

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