The Door-In-the-Face Method

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There are multiple types of persuasion and compliance gaining techniques that we utilize everyday in order to influence others, whether we do so consciously or sub-consciously. One of the most popular means of persuading others is the Door-In-The-Face method. This method consists of making a large request that will most likely be turned down. After the initial appeal is turned down, the persuader will offer a smaller request to the respondent, or the person who is being persuaded. The smaller request must precede the larger request in order to be effective. This method has been proven to be a very successful compliance method. According to Tusing and Dillard, “Door-In-The-Face has been found to increase compliance with the target request, compared to control conditions where only the target request is made,” (Tusing & Dillard, 2000, p. 5). The respondents are more willing to comply after being offered the smaller request, because in contrast to the large, initial request, the second request seems much more smaller and manageable. If the second request was offered alone, it would not produce the same effect.
In order to achieve the desired outcome with the Door-in-the-Face method, there are certain criteria that must be met. According to lecture, the first request must be substantial, but not so large that it seems implausible to the respondent. A study by Even-Chen, Yinon, and Bizman found that, “a large, but not inordinately large, initial request increase the chance of compliance with the subsequent critical request” (Even-Chen, Yinon & Bizman, 1978, p. 135). The respondents must believe that it is a reasonable request in order to take it seriously. Next, the persuasion attempt is most effective when it is made between two fr...

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...er my persuasion technique by allowing a bit more time to elapse. This way, when persuading people that I do not know as well as my family, such as friends or acquaintances, I can be more convincing and persuasive. In addition, I believe that by using what I learned from research and actually carrying out the persuasion attempt, I can persuade people more effectively in the future.

Works Cited

Tusing, K. J., & Dillard, J. P. (2000). The Psychological Reality of the Door-in-the-Face: It's Helping, not Bargaining. Journal of Language and Social Psychology,19(1), 5-25.

Even-Chen, M., Yinon, Y., & Bizman, A. (1978) The door-in-the-face techniques: Effects of the size of the initial request. European Journal of Social Psychology, 8, 135-140

Millar, M. (2002). Effects of a Guilt Induction and Guilt Reduction on Door in the Face. Communication Research,29(6), 666-680.

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