Door-in-the-face technique

The door-in-the-face (DITF) technique is a compliance method commonly studied in social psychology. The persuader attempts to convince the respondent to comply by making a large request that the respondent will most likely turn down, much like a metaphorical slamming of a door in the persuader's face. The respondent is then more likely to agree to a second, more reasonable request, than if that same request is made in isolation. The DITF technique can be contrasted with the foot-in-the-door (FITD) technique, in which a persuader begins with a small request and gradually increases the demands of each request. While the FITD technique differs from DITF, it is also a persuasion technique that increases the likelihood a respondent will agree to the second request.

In a classic experiment investigating the effectiveness of the DITF technique, researchers separated participants into three groups. In group 1, experimenters asked participants to volunteer to counsel juvenile delinquents for two hours a week for two years (large request). After their refusal, the group was asked to chaperone juvenile delinquents on a one-day trip to the zoo (small request). Group 2 was given only the small request. In group 3, the experimenter described the large request but asked the participants to perform the small request. 50% of the participants in group 1 agreed to the small request, compared to 17% in group 2 and 25% in group 3. Because compliance for the small request was significantly larger for group 1 than group 2, the DITF technique was successful. Compliance for the small request was also significantly larger for group 1 than group 3, which demonstrates that mere exposure to the more extreme task does not affect compliance as significantly.

An important topic in DITF research involves whether the DITF technique is effective because of reciprocal concessions or social responsibility. The reciprocal concessions explanation is more common and involves reciprocity, or the need for a respondent to comply to the smaller second request because the persuader is compromising from the initial request. The social responsibility explanation involves internal standards of the importance of helping others that make the respondent feel they must comply to the second smaller request. Other explanations of the DITF effect involve maintaining a positive self-presentation and reducing guilt.

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