COMPLIANCE

the result of direct pressure to respond to a request

Compliance techniques
Robert Cialdini outlined the ways in which individuals are influenced to comply with the demands or desires of others. In advertising and marketing, these techniques are used in order to persuade consumers to buy specific products. Cialdini outlined the six factors that influence the likelihood of people complying: Authority: people tend to comply with those in positions of authority. Thats why advertisers use famous people, so that people associate the brand with the celebrity. Commitment: once people have agreed to something (by their behaviour or statement of belief), they are likely to comply with similar requests. Liking: people comply to requests from people they like. Reciprocity: people often feel the need to return a favour. Scarcity: people tend to think of different opportunities as more valuable if they are less readily available. For example, last chance and limited time only sales. Social proof: people view behaviour as correct, if they see others performing it.

walks into a shop that sells carpets in the Middle Eastern bazaar. The shopkeeper greets him, talks to him and offers him coffee/tea with some pastries. Then he might show his carpet collection to the tourist, talk about their quality and history. The tourist will then start feeling guilty if he decides not to buy anything, as the shopkeeper has done a lot of work for him. Even if the tourist wasnt thinking of buying anything, he might buy something small as a souvenir.

French & Ravens (1959) model

There are six major social bases of power that can be used in a situation with examples: Promise of reward: the mother might tell her children that if they study five hours a day for several weeks, she will buy them a new PlayStation. Coercion through threat: the mother might use the threat of a negative outcome by telling her children that if they dont do well on the exams next time, she will cancel their trip. Referent power: the mother might find out whom her children admire and then present them as an example of how studious they are. Legitimate power: the mother might say that she is the parent and it is one of her jobs to ensure that her children study and get good education. Information: the mother will repeat consistently that the grades her children are now getting are not enough to get into a good university. Last year the average

Reciprocity principle
A social norm that we should treat others the way they treat us, in other words, a person must try to repay what another person has provided. Anthropologists and sociologists claim that reciprocity is one of the most widespread and basic norms of human culture. For example, a tourist

grades of entering students were Bs, but her children currently have Cs. Expertise: the mother might consult a school counsellor or some other expert, who claims that studying 5 hours a day every day will result an increase of at least one grade.

Sherman (1980)
Aim: show example of foot-in-the-door compliance technique Method: Sherman called residents in Indiana and asked them if they, hypothetically, would spend 3 hours collecting for the American Cancer Society. Three days later another experimenter called and actually asked for help. Results: 31% of those who responded to the earlier request, agreed to help and only 4% of those who were approached directly. Self-perception theory, which is when people decide on their own attitudes and feelings from watching themselves behave in various situations. It fully supports this study as people like to be classified as helpful. The second group, unlike the first one, was actually helpful.

Examples techniques

of

compliance

Door-in-the-face: a two-step technique in which a large request is made first and is then followed up by a smaller one (the target request). Foot-in-the-door: this technique aims to get people to make a commitment to a small request, following it up with another, and a larger request. Low-balling: a two-step technique in which persuader secures agreement with request but then reveals full conditions later. Hazing: a series of initiation rites in order to join a group, such as a sports team or fraternity, which consists of many potentially humiliating and dangerous tasks.

Cialdini (1978)
Aim: demonstrate the use of low-balling technique Method: a class of a universitys first-year psychology students were asked to be part of a cognition study, which would take place at 7 am. 56% have agreed without knowing that they had to turn up at 7 am. Then they were told the time, but have given them the opportunity to withdraw if they wished. Results: none of the students withdrew from the experiment and 95% percent turned up at the scheduled time. From the other group, who was told the time of the experiment in the beginning, only 24% of people have agreed to participate.