Citation

Martinie MA, Bordas B, Gil S. Scand. J. Psychol. 2023; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2023, Scandinavian Psychological Associations, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/sjop.12997

PMID

38146075

Abstract

[[ SafetyLit note:The door-in-the-face technique is a compliance method commonly studied in social psychology. The persuader attempts to convince the respondent to comply by making a large request that the respondent will most likely turn down, much like a metaphorical slamming of a door in the persuader's face. The respondent is then more likely to agree to a second, more reasonable request, than if that same request is made in isolation. The DITF technique can be contrasted with the foot-in-the-door (FITD) technique, in which a persuader begins with a small request and gradually increases the demands of each request. -- Wikipedia]]


A full 46 years after the first study of the door-in-the-face strategy (DITF), there is still a debate about the processes behind its effect. One relatively unexplored interpretation is the presence of negative affect related to large request refusal. We explored negative affect after large request refusal both explicitly (Experiment 1) and implicitly (Experiments 1 and 2). Participants were in a negative state after large request refusal (Experiment 1), and target request acceptance was a function of their emotional state (Experiment 2). Negative affect appears to play a role in acceptance of the target request in the door-in-the-face strategy. However, this pattern of results was only observed when affect was measured implicitly. The findings shed new light on the DIFT, by taking into account the complexity of the interaction with emotion. The reasons why negative affect occurs after large request refusal are discussed.

Language: en

Keywords

Door-in-the- face; implicit measure of affect; negative affect