Abstract
A field experiment was conducted to test the effectiveness of altercasting (Weinstein & Dutschberger, 1963) as a compliance-gaining technique. The central hypothesis predicts that positive altercasting messages should produce greater compliance than direct requests. Following Milgram's (1969) lost letter technique, 2,400 ostensibly “lost” letters were placed on car windshields throughout a metropolitan area along with a business card containing a handwritten altercasting or direct request message to mail the letter. The frequency of letters returned was used as a primary measure of compliance. The results do not demonstrate the effectiveness of altercasting as a compliance-gaining technique; on the contrary, they indicate that negative altercasting significantly reduces compliance.
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