Compliance

Compliance is the tendency to agree to do what is requested, especially if there are certain factors present: a feeling that there is give and take, believability, likability, limited supply and positive feedback from others. Compliance is when an individual changes his or her behavior in response to an explicit or implicit request made by a superior person. Compliance is often referred to as an active form of social influence as it is usually intentionally initiated by a person.

Techniques of compliance:

The Foot in the Door Technique

The foot in the door technique is a compliance tactic that assumes agreeing to a small request increases the likelihood of agreeing to a second, larger request. So, initially you make a small request and once the person agrees to this they find it more difficult to refuse a bigger one. The foot-in-the-door technique works on the principle of consistency. People prefer not to contradict themselves in both actions and beliefs. This means that as long as the request in consistent with or similar in nature to the original small request, the technique will work.

The Door in the Face Technique

The door-in-the-face technique is a compliance method whereby the persuader attempts to convince the respondent to comply by making a large request that the respondent will most likely turn down. This technique achieves compliance as refusing a large request increases the likelihood of agreeing to a second, smaller request. Initially you make a big request which a person can be expected to refuse. Then you make a smaller request which the person finds difficult to refuse because they feel they should not always say NO!

The Low-Ball Technique

The low-balling technique is a compliance method in which the persuader gets a person to commit to a low-ball offer they have no intention of keeping; then the price is suddenly increased. Since a person has already committed, it is hard to say no to the new higher price demand. The success of this technique works on the principle of commitment. Because the person has said “yes” or agreed to an initial request, this implies that a commitment has been given. When the request changes or becomes unreasonable, the person will (to a degree) find it difficult to say “no” because of having originally committed themselves.