Compliance techniques
IB PsychologyΒ· Human relationshipsΒ· 14 min read
1. Core concept
Compliance is publicly changing behaviour in response to a direct request β not to a group norm or an order from an authority. Researchers have identified reliable techniques that raise it. In the foot-in-the-door technique, agreeing to a small request makes people more likely to agree to a larger one later; in the low-ball technique, people who have committed to a deal tend to stay committed even after a hidden cost is revealed. Both exploit a drive for commitment and consistency, and are used in sales, charity and health campaigns to change group behaviour.
2. Key studies
IB Psychology answers must be supported by named studies. Learn these to cite as evidence:
Freedman and Fraser (1966)
Women who first agreed to a small request (answering questions about soap) were more than twice as likely to later comply with a large, intrusive request (a home survey). β Anchors the FOOT-IN-THE-DOOR technique β a small prior commitment raises later compliance.
Cialdini et al. (1978)
Students asked to sign up for a study before being told it started at 7am were more likely to agree, and to show up, than those told the time first. β Anchors the LOW-BALL technique β commitment made before the true cost is revealed tends to hold.
3. Evaluation (AO3)
Strength β field evidence with behavioural outcomes β Effects are shown in real settings with actual behaviour (turning up, signing up), and a 1978 follow-up found low-ball (60% compliance) clearly outperformed foot-in-the-door (10%), showing the techniques are distinct and ecologically valid.
Limitation β ethics & boundary conditions β The techniques work by exploiting commitment and consistency, which raises ethical concerns about manipulating free choice; and their size depends on context (who asks, the gap between requests), so they do not always transfer.
4. Scope
5. Common Pitfalls
Wrong move:
Treating compliance, conformity and obedience as the same thing.
Why:
A frequently penalised misconception in IB Psychology exams.
Correct move:
Compliance = behaviour change from a direct REQUEST; conformity = change to match a GROUP norm; obedience = change from an ORDER by an authority. Match the process to the source of influence, and name the specific technique.
Going deeper
- Compliance techniquesthe base treatment of compliance techniques is Sociocultural approach SOC_2.
- Conformityconformity is a different route to behaviour change β group norm rather than direct request (HR_3).