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Compliance techniques

IB Psychology · 2027 Syllabus

Inquiry Question & Thinking Prompt

  • What tricks would you use if you want to make someone to do something in your favour?
  • Why does a car salesman wait until you’ve already said "yes" to the deal before mentioning the extra "hidden" processing fees?
  • Does knowing exactly how these compliance tricks work actually protect you from falling for them in the real world, or are human brains just permanently wired to comply?

Learning Objective

Applying techniques to change group behavior.
  • IB Psychology Guide 2027

📖 Definition / Conceptual Understanding

Compliance is a form of social influence in which behavior changes in response to a direct request. The request may be explicit or implicit, and individuals may or may not realize they are the target of a compliance technique.

⚙️ Mechanism / Explanation

Compliance vs. Conformity vs. Obedience
  • Compliance: Yielding to a direct, explicit request made by a peer or an individual lacking formal authority.
  • Conformity: Yielding to implicit, unspoken group pressure or social norms.
  • Obedience: Yielding to a direct order issued by a recognized authority figure.
Cialdini’s 6 Principles of InfluenceOperates through underlying psychological principles such as reciprocity, commitment and consistency, social proof, authority, liking, and scarcity.
  1. Reciprocity: The obligation to return favors (e.g., free samples).
  2. Scarcity: The perception that products are more valuable when they are less available (e.g., "Limited Stock").
  3. Authority: The tendency to comply with those who appear to be experts or in positions of power.
  4. Commitment & Consistency: The drive to act in ways that align with previous statements or behaviors.
  5. Liking: The inclination to say yes to people we like or who are similar to us.
  6. Social Proof (Consensus): The tendency to look to others to determine correct behavior (e.g., "Best Seller" lists).
The Foot-in-the-Door (FITD) Technique
  • Mechanism: Operates on the psychological principle of commitment and consistency.
  • Application: The persuader initiates with a minuscule, easily agreeable request. Once the target complies, the persuader follows up with a larger, target request.
  • Outcocme: Having agreed to the initial request, the target alters their self-schema (e.g., viewing themselves as "helpful"). To maintain cognitive consistency with this newly formed self-image, they are significantly more likely to agree to the subsequent larger request.
The Door-in-the-Face (DITF) Technique
  • Mechanism: Operates on the psychological principle of reciprocity (specifically, reciprocal concessions).
  • Application: The persuader initiates with an excessively large request that is fully expected to be rejected. Immediately following the rejection, the persuader downscales to a smaller, more reasonable target request.
  • Outcome: The target perceives the reduction in the request as a "favor" or concession made by the persuader. Driven by the innate social rule of reciprocity, the target feels obligated to make a concession in return, increasing the likelihood of behavioral compliance.
The Low-Balling Technique
  • Mechanism: Operates on the psychological principle of post-decisional commitment.
  • Application: The persuader secures an initial agreement to an attractive, low-cost request. Once the commitment is made, the "cost" is increased (e.g., adding fees or removing a discount).
  • Outcome: Because the individual has already mentally committed to the decision, they experience a psychological "freezing" of that commitment. To back out would cause cognitive dissonance, so they comply even with the less favorable terms.
Comparing the "Steps"FITD: Small request -> Large request (Goal: Identity change).DITF: Massive request -> Moderate request (Goal: Reciprocal concession).Low-Ball: Attractive request -> Unattractive version of the same request (Goal: Preserve commitment).

📌 Other Relevant Information

Modern compliance theory, synthesized by Robert Cialdini, posits that human social behavior is governed by six fundamental psychological principles: Reciprocity, Scarcity, Authority, Commitment/Consistency, Liking, and Social Proof. These principles function as cognitive "shortcuts" that allow individuals to navigate social interactions efficiently. Compliance techniques specifically exploit these shortcuts to alter group behavior. For instance, the Foot-in-the-Door and Low-Balling techniques leverage the Commitment and Consistency principle, forcing individuals to maintain a stable self-image or adhere to a prior decision. Conversely, Door-in-the-Face leverages the Reciprocity principle through perceived concessions. By applying these techniques, a solicitor bypasses rational, systematic processing and triggers a "heuristic-based" compliance, making it a powerful tool for changing behavior within organizational and social groups.

🃏 Scenario Flip Cards

Click a card to reveal the explanation. Each scenario feeds directly into a Paper 1B practice question — use "Practice P1B" to attempt it.

Scenario 1: The Environmental Petition (Foot-in-the-Door)
Scenario: A conservation organization wishes to convince a neighborhood to install expensive solar panels. Initially, volunteers go door-to-door simply asking residents to sign a petition supporting clean energy, a request nearly everyone accepts. Two weeks later, a different set of volunteers visits the same households, directly requesting that the residents purchase and install the solar panels.
Question: Identify the compliance technique utilized in this scenario and explain the cognitive mechanism driving the residents' subsequent behavior.
Click to reveal
Explanation:
  1. The Sequencing: The organization purposefully initiates a two-step process, beginning with an incredibly minor request (signing a petition) followed by a substantial target request (purchasing solar panels).
  1. The Technique: This procedural sequence empirically defines the Foot-in-the-Door (FITD) technique.
  1. The Cognitive Mechanism: By signing the initial petition, the residents undergo a subtle shift in self-perception, internalizing an identity as "environmentally conscious individuals." To avoid cognitive dissonance and maintain behavioral consistency with this new self-schema, they become statistically more likely to comply with the massive financial request.
Click to flip back
Scenario 2: The Fundraising Negotiation (Door-in-the-Face)
Scenario: A university fundraising committee calls alumni to solicit donations. The caller initially asks the alumnus to commit to a monthly donation of $500 for the next five years. When the alumnus audibly gasps and immediately declines, the caller apologizes, stating, "I completely understand. Would you be willing to make a one-time donation of just $50 today instead?"
Question: Using the your understanding of compliance techniques, analyze why this specific sequence of requests is highly effective in altering donor behavior.
Click to reveal
Explanation:
  1. The Exaggerated Anchor: The solicitor intentionally presents an artificially inflated initial request ($500/month) that guarantees an immediate rejection.
  1. The Technique: Following the rejection, the immediate presentation of a drastically smaller target request constitutes the Door-in-the-Face (DITF) technique.
  1. The Reciprocal Concession: The alumnus perceives the rapid drop from a massive commitment to a minor one-time fee as a negotiation concession made by the caller. To honor the social norm of reciprocity, the alumnus feels psychological pressure to meet the caller halfway, resulting in compliance with the $50 request.
Click to flip back
Scenario 3: The Early Morning Volunteer (Low-Balling)
Scenario: A university professor asks their students if they would be willing to participate in a short psychological study for extra credit. Most of the class enthusiastically agrees. Only after the students have signed their names and committed to the task does the professor reveal that the study takes place at 7:00 am on a Saturday morning.
Question: Identify the compliance technique being used and explain why the students are unlikely to withdraw their commitment despite the unfavorable time.
Click to reveal
Explanation:
  1. The Initial Lure: The professor secures a verbal and written commitment to a general, attractive request (extra credit) without revealing the true "cost."
  1. The Technique: This is the Low-Balling technique. It differs from FITD because the nature of the task remains the same, but the parameters become more difficult.
  1. Post-Decisional Commitment: Once the students have committed, they create internal justifications for participating. To withdraw now would create a state of cognitive dissonance, as it would conflict with their self-image as a "committed student." Therefore, they comply with the 7:00 am requirement to maintain psychological consistency.
Click to flip back

🔬 Common Studies

These studies feed directly into Paper 2B practice questions.

📋 What is Required

Paper 1A— Short answer (4 marks)
Outline one compliance technique with reference to one study.
View mark scheme
9 marks: Accurate outline of the chosen technique (e.g., FITD) and its psychological mechanism, linked to a study.
Paper 1B— Scenario response (6 marks)
Evaluate research on one or more compliance techniques.
View mark scheme
22 marks: Comprehensive knowledge of the techniques, methodological evaluation, and critical consideration of real-world applicability.

💬 ATL Discussion & Theory of Knowledge

ATL Discussion Questions

Factual
What are the six principles of influence?
Conceptual
How does the drive for cognitive consistency make us vulnerable to manipulation?
Debatable
Is the use of compliance techniques in marketing inherently unethical?

Link to Theory of Knowledge

If human behavior can be predictably and mathematically altered simply by changing the phrasing or sequence of a request, do we actually possess free will, or are our daily choices just illusions created by clever psychological framing?

🔗 Link to Concepts

Select a concept to explore how it connects to this topic. These connections also feed into Paper 1C practice questions.

Link to Measurement

The Link: How do psychologists accurately measure the cognitive shift responsible for the Foot-in-the-Door effect?
Application: While compliance behavior (e.g., signing a petition or buying a raffle ticket) yields highly objective, quantifiable data, the underlying cognitive mechanism—the hypothesized shift in "self-schema" or "cognitive consistency"—remains entirely invisible.
Does measuring the final behavioral output provide sufficient scientific evidence to retroactively claim that an internal, unmeasurable shift in personal identity definitively occurred?

🧠 Quick Quiz

Which of the following best defines compliance in the context of social influence?

The 'foot-in-the-door' technique relies primarily on which psychological principle?

Which compliance technique involves making an attractive offer, only to make it less favorable after the person has committed?

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