Door-in-the-Face and But-You-Are-Free

Abstract

According to Howard’s proposal of chaining compliance techniques and based on the proximity of interpretation of their effects, this study aimed to test a combination of two paradigms: a door-in-the-face request that makes a high-cost request before the target request and the but-you-are-free request that adds an evocation of freedom to the request. Two experiments were conducted ( N = 120 and 1,292) to promote donations to non-profit organizations. There were four conditions. Participants were approached according to the door-in-the-face procedure, to the but-you-are-free procedure, to a combination of both of them, or directly in a control condition. There was an increase of compliance rates in experimental conditions compared to the control condition and an increase in the average amount donated in the combination condition compared to the control condition in the second study. Results are discussed in terms of responsibility and guilt mechanisms, and future developments are proposed.