As social beings there are many social influences that help to explain our everyday actions. Although some may try to resist these social influences or believe that their actions are based solely on their own motives rather then on others, conformity, as well as obedience and compliance, is similar to a reflex (Milgram, 1969). During situations of social influences such as conformity people often follow group norms. Social influences such has those that cause obedience are produced by commands of authority. Another common form of social influence, and one that will be focused on today, occurs when direct requests are made to an individual. Situations set forth for compliance can take many forms but all call for a change in behavior due to the direct request made. In his book, Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, Robert
Cialdini (2007) describes several key request making strategies that set way for compliance. Among these advised tactics is Low balling; this tactic is based on a "start small" idea. The two-step compliance technique, known as low balling, occurs when a person secures an agreement/commitment with a request but then increases the dimensions of the request by revealing its hidden costs. That is, a person will receive a commitment to a small request from someone only to reveal that the other person truly committed to a much greater obligation. Cialdini et al. (1978) conducted a study examining low balling. In the study, experimenters called introductory psychology students on the phone to ask if they would be wiling to participate in a study for extra credit. Some of the students were told in the beginning of the conversation the time of the study and some where told at the end. In both conditions the time was the same (7 A.M.) but the time in which they received this information varied (either before or after they had agreed to participate). The results of the study, whether the students wanted to participate at 7 A.M.or not, showed an increase in sign-ups (Cialdini et al., 1978). Students who were asked to take part in the study before they were unaware of the time it was going to be held, committed themselves to participate and the sense of commitment did not change; even when it was revealed that the request was more costly then expected.
Imagine you are a first time car buyer. You see the car to the left; its a black Honda Civic. Although you are unaware of the reasons why, you have always wanted a car exactly like it. As you negotiate with the salesperson you explain to them that all you want is AC and a car that will last. The salesperson tells you that you are in luck because not only does everything in the car work, it can be yours for only $4000. I assume many of you have experienced or at least heard of many salesperson or car dealership stories that involve low balling. Get excited because here is another one! The situation described above happened to Dee this summer as he was looking for a new car. He was so excited to FINALLY have a reliable car, not to mention one with everything he was looking for. Dee began to think about the things he was going to do, places he was going to go, and how happy he was going to be when the car was his. It was as if he had fallen in love. Although all seemed well, as the paperwork began to be processed with every minute that went by the salesperson began to sweat more and more... must have been because he felt bad cheating a hard working kid. While he was working on the paper work the salesperson was called into his bosses office. When he returned Dee was informed that the car they were looking at was no longer available but there was a car exactly like it that would be marked the same price. Dee accepted the offer only to be informed that the car did not have a radio. There was also a problem with the Cadillac converter. Despite the problems, Dee had already made not only a verbal commitment but an emotional commitment with the car. Sadly, the problems only got worse with the car from then on (the air conditioning went out within a week during the blazing hot summer!) To say the least, what started off looking like a great offer became a huge pain in the ass for everyone. Not only did I have to help deal with all the horrible problems, Dee was in the same spot he started in before he bought the car: car-less!
... talk about wanting to hit someone in the lowballs.
Caildini, R. B. (2007). Influence: The psychology of persuasion. New York: HarperCollins.
Caildini, R.B., Cacioppo, J.T., Bassett, R., & Miller, J.A. (1978). Low-balling procedure for producing compliance: Commitment then cost. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 34, 366-375.
Milgram, S., & Toch, H. (1969) Collective behavior: Crowds and social movements. In G. Lindzey & E. Aronson (Eds.), The handbook of social psychology (2nd ed., Vol 4, pp. 507-610). Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
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