Compliance Gaining

Common strategies and tactics

What is compliance gaining?

Focus is on intentional efforts to get people to do what you wantEmphasis is on behavioral conformity, not necessarily belief or attitude change

Marwell & Schmidt’s typology

How a parent might try to get a teenager to study1. Promise: If you comply, I will reward you. For example, you offer to increase Dick’s allowance if he studies more.2. Threat: If you do not comply, I will punish you. For example, you threaten to forbid Dick to use the car if he doesn’t start studying more.3. Expertise (positive): If you comply, you will be rewarded because of the “nature of things.” For example, you tell Dick that if he gets good grades he will be able to get into college and get a good job.4. Expertise (negative): If you do not comply, you will be punished because of the “nature of things.” For example, you tell dick that if he does not get good grades he will not be able to get into a good college or get a good job.

5. Liking: Act friendly and helpful to get the person in a “good frame of mind” so that he/she will comply with the request. For example, you try to be as friendly and pleasant as possible to put Dick in a good mood before asking him to study.6. Pregiving: Reward the person before requesting his/her compliance. For example, you raise Dick’s allowance and tell him you now expect him to study.7. Aversive Stimulation: Continuously punish the person, making cessation contingent on his/her compliance. For example, you forbid Dick the use of the car and tell him he will not be able to drive until he studies more.8. Debt: You owe me compliance because of past favors. For example, you point out that you have sacrificed and saved to pay for Dick’s education and that he owes it to you to get good enough grades to get into a good college.

Marwell & Schmidt--continued

9. Moral Appeal: You are immoral if you do not comply. You tell Dick that it is morally wrong for anyone not to get as good grades as possible and that he should study more.10. Self-Feeling (positive): You will feel better about yourself if you comply. For example, you tell Dick that he will feel proud if he gets himself to study more.11. Self-Feeling (negative): You will feel worse about yourself if you do not comply. For example, you tell Dick that he will feel ashamed of himself if he gets bad grades.12. Altercasting (positive): A person with “good” qualities would comply. For example, you tell Dick since he is a mature and intelligent person he naturally will want to study more and get good grades.

13. Altercasting (negative): Only a person with “bad” qualities would not comply. For example, you tell Dick that he should study because only someone very childish does not study.14. Altruism: I need your compliance very badly, so do it for me. For example, you tell Dick that you really want very badly for him to get into a good college and that you wish he would study more as a personal favor to you.15. Esteem (positive): People you value will think better of you if you comply. For example, you tell Dick that the whole family will be very proud of him if he gets good grades.16. Esteem (negative): People you value will think the worse of you if you do not comply. For example, you tell dick that the whole family will be very disappointed in him if he gets poor grades.

Kellermmann (2004) examined 50 plus strategies

Accuse AcknowledgeAdvise ApologizeApproveArgueAskAssertAssureAttackBlameBoastChallengeClaim

Comment ComplainComplimentConfessConfirmCriticizeDemandDisagreeDiscloseExcuseExplainForbid ForgiveGive

HintInsistInformInsultJokeJustifyOfferOrderPermitPleadPoint outPraise Prohibit PromiseProtestQuestion

RemarkReportReprimandRequestRidiculeSuggestSummarizeTellThankThreatenVowWarn

1. Reciprocity

“norm of reciprocity” as a cultural universalcreating perceptions of obligation and indebtedness

Buying someone a drink at a barCampaign donations and political lobbyingPolice interrogation: befriending the suspect

Reciprocity in interpersonal contexts

dating behavior and sexual compliance gaining

Morr & Mongeau (2004): “men have higher sexual expectations than women and sexual expectations are heightened when alcohol is available.”

reciprocity can create uninvited debts and trigger unfair exchanges

2. Commitment and consistency

Cognitive inconsistency is psychologically uncomfortablePeople want to appear to be consistent

not appearing wishy-washy, two-faced

Initiation ritualsfraternitiesMarine “blood-pinning” ceremonyGangs

Public commitments are more binding

Consistency in interpersonal contexts

consistency and peer pressureconsistency and organizational cultureMay be important to activate someone’s attitudes to initiate consistency

Cognitive dissonance

guilt appeals, buyer’s remorseinducing hypocrisybroken promiseswords versus deedssocial contracts

example: “True Love Waits” program

3. Social proof

“canned” laughter on sitcomsdrinking and spring breakflashing for beads during Mardi Grasthe bystander phenomenon

Darley (1970) students participating in a conference call were less likely to help in a group of five (30%) versus a group of 2 (62%) versus alone (85%) when one of the callers feigned a seizure.

Social modeling of behavior

social modeling and the media

MTV’s “Jackass” showSmoking rates in cinema are higher than for the public at large in R rated movies, and for male characters (Omidvari, et al 2005).Unsafe sex: (Gunasekera & Chapman, 2005): 98% of movies with sex scenes make no mention of safe sex

4. Liking, the “friendly thief”

Liking as an indirect influence strategy

Relies on the “peripheral route” to persuasion (Petty & Cacioppo, 1986)

Liking is a pervasive tool of influenceOperates in friendships, the workplace, with strangers, in social groups (school, church. etc.), and in sales/commerce.

Liking operates in numerous ways

Attractiveness can facilitate likingPerceived similarity can facilitate likingImmediacy can facilitate likingIngratiation can facilitate likingHumor can facilitate likingFavors can facilitate liking

Attractiveness and liking

Why is attractiveness so persuasive?

Socialization processes: equating beauty with good, ugly with evil“halo effect”: physical attractiveness is generalized to other personality traitsliking: we admire, and want to be admired by, attractive people

Caveat: attractiveness is less influential when “central processing” is used

advantages of attractiveness

Attractive people are judged as happier, more intelligent, friendlier, stronger, kinder, and better at communicating (Knapp, 1992)Attractive defendants are more likely to receive lenient sentences (Castellow, Wuensch, & Moore, 1991)Strangers are more likely to lend assistance to attractive people (Benson, Karabenic, & Lerner, 1976)Teachers perceive attractive students to be more intelligent (Ritts, Patterson, & Tubbs, 1992)

Similarity and liking

Byrne (1971) we tend to like people who are similar to usSimilarities may involve beliefs, personality traits, demographic characteristics, lifestyles, appearancesDePaulo (1992) persuaders can build rapport buy mirroring another’s nonverbal behavior

Ingratiation and liking

Other enhancementCompliments, flattery, charm

Variation: Use of a 3rd party to deliver the compliment

Opinion conformityAgreeing, reinforcing, “Yes” man approachVariation: initially disagree, then yield

Self presentationBragging, posturing, name dropping

Studies on ingratiation’s effectiveness

DeLuga: ingratiators gained a 5% edge over non-ingratiators in garnering positive workplace evaluationsGordon (1996) ingratiatory behavior has a positive, modest effect on targets’ judgments and evaluations

Immediacy can facilitate liking

Immediacy: actions that convey warmth, closeness, friendliness, and involvement (Anderson, 1999)Common verbal immediacy behaviors

Calling someone by name, verbal reinforcement (“good point,” “great idea!”), expressing verbal interest (“tell me about your vacation!”)

Common nonverbal immediacy behaviors

closer proximity, smiling, nodding in agreement, eye contact, touch

5. Ethos: the power of authorities

Roughly 1 in 4 commercials relies on a celebrity endorser10% of advertising expenses go to pay celebrity endorsers (Agrawal & Kamamura, 1995)Berger (2000) claims Americans live in a “celebritocracy”Yet only 3% of those surveyed admitted they would buy a product based on a celebrities say so

Blind obedience: deferring to authorities

Abu Ghraib: low ranking soldiers followed the orders of outside contractorsMilgram (1974) 65% of subjects followed orders to shock another person repeatedlyHofling et al. (1966) the Astrogen experiment; 95% of hospital nurses complied with an improper directiveCult leaders (Jim Jones, David Coresh, Marshal Applewhite)

6. Scarcity

Psychological reactance theory (Brehm, 1966, Brehm & Brehm, 1981)cognitive dissonance (Festinger, 1953) and lost opportunities

Stock market investing and the herd mentalityCon artists, scams

Strategies relying on the scarcity principleLimited numbers; “limited edition,” “while supplies last,” “limit 1 per customer”

Collectibles, memorabilia and scarcity

limited time, “limited time offer,” sales “windows”Businesses that cater to time’s scarcity

Lenscrafters, 1 hour photo, Jiffy Lube, drive through services, drive-through tellers