An extreme request that is refused raises compliance with the moderate request that follows.
Cialdini's field test: asked to chaperone delinquents on a zoo trip, 17% agreed; asked first to mentor for two years and refused, then asked about the trip, 50% agreed. The retreat reads as a concession requiring reciprocation.
In practice
- A charity asks for a monthly direct debit, is refused, and then asks for a one-off £20 that would have been refused as an opening request.
- A manager asks for weekend cover, accepts no, and secures the late Friday shift they wanted.
- Further reading
- Wikipedia
- Subject
- Psychology & Behavior
- Essay
- A century and a half of measuring the mind