Mindlessness Revisited: Sequential Request Techniques Foster Compliance by Draining Self-control Resources

The present research extends previous findings suggesting that sequential request techniques, such as the Foot-in-the-Door (FITD) or Door-in-the-Face (DITF) technique, are primarily effective under conditions conducive of mindlessness. We forward that this mindlessness may be the product of the influence technique itself. More specifically, based on the notion of self-control as a limited resource, we hypothesize that actively responding to the initial request-phase of a FITD-compliance gaining procedure drains the target of his/her self-regulatory resources, thus creating the mindlessness so often observed in social influence settings. This resource depletion opens the door for compliance with the target request. The results were in line with these expectations. More specifically, we observed that active responding to an initial request of a FITD technique reduced the availability of self-regulatory resources. This state of resource depletion mediated the effect of the technique on behavioral compliance. In addition, the results of this study ruled out the alternate explanation that the effects were attributable to mood or a general tendency for acquiescence.     

SEQUENTIAL-REQUEST PERSUASIVE STRATEGIES

Meta-analysis of the foot-in-the-door (FITD) and door-in-the-face (DITF) literatures showed both effects to be small (r = .17, .15 respectively), even under optimal conditions. Both require aprosocial topic in order to work. The amount of time between the first and second requests plays a different role in the operation of each of the two strategies. DITF was effective only when the delay between requests was brief. Effectiveness of FITD was unrelated to delay, but did depend on whether or not an incentive was provided with the first request. The positive relationship between effort and FITD predicted by self-perception theory was not found. Self-perception theory and reciprocal concessions theory, the theoretical perspectives usually applied to FITD and DITF respectively are examined in light of the findings and it is concluded that both are flawed seriously. Directions for future research are suggested.     

Door-in-the-Face Technique and Delay to Fulfill the Final Request: An Evaluation With a Request to Give Blood

We tested the Door-in-the-Face technique (DITF) on blood donation with a delay between the acceptance of the request and the real possibility of complying with it. University students were solicited to give blood during a special one-day drive. After the refusal to participate in a long-term donor program, participants were asked for a one unit blood donation. In the control condition, only the latter request was addressed. The participants were either solicited two or three hours before the blood drive (delay) or during the blood drive (no delay). Results showed the DITF technique to be associated with greater verbal compliance with the request. However, the DITF technique with no delay was associated with greater behavioral compliance than were both of the control conditions and the DITF with a delay condition.     

The Value and Vulnerability of Perceived Religious Involvement

Abstract

The relation between sequential request influence strategies and social power was examined, using a social impact theory model of perception. It was predicted that a door-in-the-face (DITF) scenario would suggest a greater difference in power between a giver and seeker than a foot-in-the-door (FITD) scenario would. Two judgment studies using American students at two different universities measured the perceived power of two individuals, the favor giver and the favor seeker, in either the DITF or the FITD. In both studies, the subjects perceived a significantly greater power difference between the giver and the seeker in the DITF strategy than they did in the FITD.     

Attributions in the New Zealand Sports Pages

Abstract

Foot-in-the-door (FITD) and door-in-the face (DITF) techniques were compared in a telephone survey that also sought to assess how legitimate the source of the request seemed to the respondents. Calls were made to 120 Americans by an interviewer from a fictitious private consulting firm, using a source name designed to have low perceived legitimacy. It had been expected from previous research that only the FITD technique would successfully produce compliance under these circumstances, and that the FITD compilers would also yield higher ratings of the source's legitimacy than either the DITF or a control. This prediction was confirmed, but some evidence suggested that the source legitimacy question in the procedure also affected the compliance level of DITF subjects.     

A Dual Process Theory Explanation for Door-in-the-Face Effectiveness

Two field experiments demonstrate that additive effects of heuristic and systematic processing can explain door-in-the-face technique (DITF) compliance. In Study 1, additive effects of heuristic and systematic processing resulted in an increase in charitable donations. Study 2 replicated the additive effects mean differences observed in the first. Attitude toward a charitable issue was also more strongly correlated with donations in a strong arguments than a no arguments DITF condition, compatible with an additive effects explanation. Both studies indicate that rational processing of argument information has a significant and independent effect on donations in addition to traditional heuristic processing typically inferred in explaining DITF compliance.     

Examining legalism,scrupulosity, family perfectionism,and psychological adjustment among LDS individuals

This study examined the relationships and interactions between legalism, scrupulosity, family perfectionism, guilt, and shame among 421 Latter-Day Saints (LDS or Mormons). The results showed that scrupulosity fully mediated the links between legalism and guilt, as well as legalism and shame. A moderated-mediation effect was found, in which family discrepancy (maladaptive perfectionism) intensified the scrupulosity–shame association in the mediation model of legalism and shame by scrupulosity. Family discrepancy was not a significant moderator for the mediation model of legalism and guilt by scrupulosity. Additional results are provided and implications of these findings are outlined.     

“I Want to Know More!”: Children Are Sensitive to Explanation Quality When Exploring New Information

When someone encounters an explanation perceived as weak, this may lead to a feeling of deprivation or tension that can be resolved by engaging in additional learning. This study examined to what extent children respond to weak explanations by seeking additional learning opportunities. Seven‐ to ten‐year‐olds (N = 81) explored questions and explanations (circular or mechanistic) about 12 animals using a novel Android tablet application. After rating the quality of an initial explanation, children could request and receive additional information or return to the main menu to choose a new animal to explore. Consistent with past research, there were both developmental and IQ‐related differences in how children evaluated explanation quality. But across development, children were more likely to request additional information in response to circular explanations than mechanistic explanations. Importantly, children were also more likely to request additional information in direct response to explanations that they themselves had assigned low ratings, regardless of explanation type. In addition, there was significant variability in both children's explanation evaluation and their exploration, suggesting important directions for future research. The findings support the deprivation theory of curiosity and offer implications for education.     

Redeeming Apartheid's Legacy: Collective Guilt, Political Ideology, and Compensation

This paper reports two studies among white South African students on feelings of collective guilt about apartheid and attitudes to affirmative action. Study 1 reports on 21 in-depth interviews, Study 2 on results from 180 survey questionnaires. Substantial proportions of the participants in both studies displayed feelings of collective guilt. Among participants in both studies who identified strongly with white South Africans, some displayed strong feelings of collective guilt while others displayed no such feelings. Our survey data suggest that political ideology functions as a moderator. Strong feelings of guilt were found among students who identified strongly with white South Africans and defined themselves as liberals. If they defined themselves as conservatives then no feelings of collective guilt were observed. Strong feelings of collective guilt were accompanied by positive attitudes toward affirmative action. The influence of political ideology on attitudes toward affirmative action was mediated by collective guilt.     

Political-economic values and the relationship between socioeconomic status and self-esteem

Values concerning the distribution of wealth are an important aspect of identity for many Americans, and such values may therefore influence how Americans experience their own socioeconomic status (SES). Based on this proposition, the present research examines political-economic values as a moderator of the relationship between SES and self-esteem. Results supported the hypothesis that there is a stronger relationship between SES and self-esteem among individuals who report relatively inegalitarian values than among individuals who report relatively egalitarian values. This result was replicated using both objective and subjective measures of SES. Implications of the present findings for the study of values and well-being, psychological conflict, and the influence of economic factors on self-esteem are discussed.     

Arousal transfer: The influence of fear arousal on subsequent sexual arousal for subjects with high and low sex guilt

Male subjects (N = 128) with high or low sex guilt either were or were not threatened with shock (fear arousal manipulation) and then viewed either an erotic or a neutral film (sex arousal manipulation). Then all subjects viewed and rated slides of attractive women and slides of landscapes (neutral control slides). If fear arousal was specifically transferred to sexual arousal as is often predicted rather than simply causing a general increase in arousal, then it would be expected that subjects who had been exposed to the threat would show high arousal in response to the slides of women and low arousal to the slides of landscapes, whereas subjects who had not been threatened would show low arousal to both the slides of women and landscapes. Physiological (pulse rate, skin resistance), self-report, and word association measures consistently indicated that (a) both of the arousal manipulations were effective, (b) the slides of women were arousing, (c) sex guilt influenced responses as would be expected from previous research, but (d) did not indicate support for arousal transference. These findings (a) provide information concerning the influence of guilt on drives, (b) raise questions about the transfer of arousal that was noted in less controlled investigations, and (c) highlight the need for additional controls in research of this type.     

The Interpersonal Adaptiveness of Dispositional Guilt and Shame: A Meta‐Analytic Investigation

Despite decades of empirical research, conclusions regarding the adaptiveness of dispositional guilt and shame are mixed. We use meta‐analysis to summarize the empirical literature and clarify these ambiguities. Specifically, we evaluate how guilt and shame are uniquely related to pro‐social orientation and, in doing so, highlight the substantial yet under‐acknowledged impact of researchers’ methodological choices. A series of meta‐analyses was conducted investigating the relationship between dispositional guilt (or shame) and pro‐social orientation. Two main methodological moderators of interest were tested: test format (scenario vs. checklist) and statistical analysis (semi‐partial vs. zero‐order correlations). Among studies employing zero‐order correlations, dispositional guilt was positively correlated with pro‐social orientation (k = 63, Mr = .13, p < .001), whereas dispositional shame was negatively correlated, (k = 47, Mr = –.05, p = .07). Test format was a significant moderator for guilt studies only, with scenario measures producing significantly stronger effects. Semi‐partial correlations resulted in significantly stronger effects among guilt and shame studies. Although dispositional guilt and shame are differentially related to pro‐social orientation, such relationships depend largely on the methodological choices of the researcher, particularly in the case of guilt. Implications for the study of these traits are discussed.     

Unwanted Identities: A Key Variable in Shame–Anger Links and Gender Differences in Shame

The present study examined the role that unwanted identities play in accounting for extant findings concerning gender differences in shame-proneness. The construct of unwanted identities was also used to explain why powerful associations have been found between shame and anger. College students (48 men, 84 women) rated their feelings of shame, guilt, anger, and unwanted identities in response to the TOSCA-2 scenarios, known to yield robust gender differences in shame, and to new scenarios, meant to be more threatening to men's than women's identities. Even after accounting for shared variance between shame and guilt, evidence supported the conclusion that women's greater shame-proneness than men's could be an artifact, reflecting the more threatening nature of previous situations to women's identities. Mediational analyses also confirmed that unwanted identities elicit shame, which, in turn, is a powerful instigator of anger. Discussion focuses on inconsistencies between the present results and expectations based on previous theory and research.     

Is It Adaptive or Maladaptive? Elaborating Conditional Role of Shame and Guilt in Development of Psychopathologies

The study aimed to explain adaptive and maladaptive functioning of shame and guilt using discomfort intolerance as a moderator. Sample comprised of 387 adolescents and young adults (51.7% females) age ranged 15–20 years. Data were collected using Frustration Discomfort Scale, Test of Self-Conscious Affect, and Youth Self-Report. Bivariate correlations showed that for the first quartile of discomfort intolerance, shame positively correlated and guilt negatively correlated with psychopathologies, whereas for the last quartile of discomfort intolerance, shame negatively correlated and guilt positively correlated with psychopathologies. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that discomfort intolerance moderates effect of both shame and guilt on internalizing problems and externalizing problems. It is concluded that shame and guilt have both adaptive and maladaptive functioning. The conditional effect of discomfort intolerance distinguishes the patterns of relationship between shame and guilt and psychopathology.     

God image and mood in old age: Results from a community-based pilot study in the Netherlands

Religious involvement is frequently found to be associated with less depression in later life. The emotional aspects of religiousness, such as pertaining to the God–object relationship, have not received substantial attention in empirical research among older adults, and especially not in European samples. As part of a pilot study of the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam, a small sample of older church-members (n?=?60), aged 68–93, filled out a questionnaire, including the Questionnaire God Image on feelings to God and perceptions of God, two of the God Image Scales designed by Lawrence on perceptions of God, the brief positive and negative religious coping scale designed by Pargament, and items on hopelessness, depressive symptoms, and feelings of guilt. Feelings of discontent towards God correlated positively with hopelessness, depressive symptoms, feelings of guilt, and also with depressive symptoms assessed 13 years earlier; these findings pertained to Protestant participants in particular. Most facets of God image, positive, critical, and about punishment reappraisals, were associated with more feelings of guilt. A possible explanation for the most pervasive finding, that feelings of discontent towards God are related to depressive symptoms, is that both, throughout life, remain rooted in insecure attachment styles.     

Acquiring Assistance from Others The Effect of Indirect Requests and Relational Intimacy on Verbal Compliance

This research examines the effectiveness of indirect requests in attaining assistance from intimate and nonintimate others. Prior research indicates that people are inclined to make requests using indirect forms. However, help-seeking research has neglected to consider request forms, and research on indirect requests has focused mainly on issues of interpretation. The results of this study indicate that the directness of a request increases request force and also interacts with relational intimacy to influence verbal compliance. Directness is more effective at eliciting verbal compliance at higher levels of intimacy. The experimental findings highlight issues concerning the definition of indirectness and also the utility of merging interpretation and compliance in language research.     

Quality of object relations as a moderator of the relationship between pattern of alliance and outcome in short-term individual psychotherapy

In this study, we investigated the personality variable quality of object relations (QOR) as a moderator of the relationship between the pattern of the therapeutic alliance and treatment outcome in two forms (interpretive, supportive) of short-term individual psychotherapy. In a sample of 72 psychiatric outpatients who completed interpretive therapy, QOR emerged as a moderator for the outcome factor general symptomatology and dysfunction. For high-QOR patients, an increasing level of alliance was directly related to benefit, whereas for low-QOR patients, a decreasing level of alliance was directly related to benefit. An explanation for these findings emphasized the importance of patients repeating their typical pattern of maladaptive interpersonal behavior in the therapy sessions in the context of the therapist working with the transference. In a sample of 72 psychiatric outpatients who completed supportive therapy, QOR did not emerge as a moderator. These findings in combination with evidence from previous studies suggest that QOR should be investigated as a moderator variable in future studies of short-term psychotherapy.     

The exemplary social emotion guilt: Not so relationship-oriented when another person repairs for you

Guilt is considered by many researchers to be the hallmark social emotion. Guilt theories perceive guilt to be a negative emotion with positive interpersonal consequences, and empirical research has shown guilt to motivate prosocial behaviours aimed at restoring the relationship with one's victims. The current research questions the relationship-oriented nature of this emotion. Five experiments reveal that when a person repairs the transgressor's damage caused to a victim, the transgressor's guilt feelings, reparative intentions, and prosocial behaviour decrease. These findings suggest that it is not the relationship with the victim that is important in the regulation of guilt feelings, but rather the reparative actions that have been undertaken. Implications for theory and behavioural research on guilt are discussed.