Discuss the use of compliance techniques

Discuss the use of compliance techniques. (22)

Discuss (22) – A considered and balanced review, including a range of arguments, factors or hypothesis. Opinions and conclusions presented clearly supported by appropriate evidence.

Compliance techniques

Foot in the door (Commitment) – “commit to this? might as well with that too..”

Feeling of commitment to a certain thing.

Dickerson – Take shorter shower (Compliance – Commitment)
[A]	Investigate the effect of compliance (commitment) on behaviour.
[P]	Students from the university was asked to sign a poster saying “Take shorter showers, if I can do it, so can you!” Then the students were asked to do a survey that was designed to make them think about their own water wastage. The shower times of students were monitored.
[F]	Those who signed the poster were forced to think about their own water wastage, they averaged the shower time of 3.5 minutes That result was significantly lower than the average time across the dormitories. Might be able to argue that the students signed the poster because they are already committed to the cause.
[C]	Students felt that they are committed to a cause.

Door in the face (Reciprocity) – “how bout settle with less?”

Feeling the need to return a favour.

Cialdini – Juvenile day trip/social worker (Compliance – Reciprocity)
[A]	Investigate the effect of compliance (reciprocity) on behaviour.
[P] [F]	Experimenters pretended they were from a “County Youth Counseling Programme”. They stopped at different university campuses recruiting students to look after a group of juvenile on their day trip. 83% refused this job. On another day, the experimenters asked if the students would be willing to be part of a counseling programme for two hours a week for two years. Everyone refused the job. Then, the experimenter asked them to look after a group of juvenile on their day trip. 50% agreed.
[C]	Students felt the need to accept the second offer as a for of returning a favour because they declined the first offer.

Obedience to authority

Feeling of having to obey the authority.

Stanley Milgram – Study On Obedience (Compliance)
[A]	Investigating the effect of authority on compliance and obedience.
[P]	Subjects were 40 males, age range from 20 to 50, found through newspaper advert. Subjects were led to believe that the experiment was investigating the effect of punishment on learning. They were given the role of the “teacher” through a fixed lottery. They saw the learner (which is an actor) in real life, strapped to a chair connected with an electrode. The experimenter took the subject to another room and told them to apply an electric shock by pressing the button whenever the learner gets a question wrong. The experimenter wore a grey lab coat. The “teacher” was given a test shock of 45 volts. At certain voltages, different vocal feedback was given through a recorded system. After 315 volts, no response was given.
[F]	65% of the subjects continued on to the maximum 450 volts. No one stopped before 300 volts. Subjects were observed to show signs of stress (e.g. sweat, tremble, biting their lips).
[C]	Subjects displayed compliance because of the authority figure (the experimenter in the grey lab coat). Compliance, not conformity. Because it is evident that the subjects did not internalise the idea of giving shock. When subjects were asked to electrocute a puppy, level of obedience increased.
[E]	Ecological validity: Low, lab environment. Culture bias: Unrepresentative sample, all subjects were from the US. Other researchers replicated the study in other countries. Findings can then be generalised. Caused distress in subjects. They were told “you have no choice but to carry on” but in actual fact subjects had the right to leave. Subjects were deceived to thinking that they were actually giving out electric shocks. They were then debriefed, and showed that the learner was unharmed. Gender bias: Only male subjects used initially. In later replicates, female subjects and “victim” were also used. When a female “victim” was used, level of obedience reduced.