A Cross-Cultural Investigation of the Foot-in-the-Door Compliance Induction Procedure

Abstract

The present study reports on three separate field experiments that investigated, respectively, the foot-in-the-door (FITD) compliance induction procedure in three cultures (Paris, France; Frankfurt, West Germany; and Amsterdam, the Netherlands). A three-group design was employed in all three settings: a small request only, a large request only (control), and a small request followed by a large request. Ratings of the size of the request, normative expectations of what others would be likely to do in response to a similar request, and actual compliance behavior were obtained. Across all three experiments, the small request was rated as small and the large request was rated as large. Compliance behavior and normative expectations varied systematically as a function of request condition. An FlTD effect, however, emerged only in the Amsterdam sample. The findings were discussed in relation to request norms, self-perception theory, a probabilistic model of social psychology, and the ideological underpinnings of FITD.