Replication of a high-probability request sequence with varied interprompt times in a preschool setting

An intervention for noncompliance consisting of a series of requests promoting a high probability of compliance followed either 5 s or 20 s later by a request with a low probability of compliance was implemented with a preschool child with autism. Results indicated that applications of the request sequence with a shorter interprompt time resulted in higher rates of compliance, and longer interprompt times resulted in near-baseline rates of compliance.     

A PILOT STUDY OF NATURALLY OCCURRING HIGH‐PROBABILITY REQUEST SEQUENCES IN HOSTAGE NEGOTIATIONS

In the current study, the audiotapes from three hostage‐taking situations were analyzed. Hostage negotiator requests to the hostage taker were characterized as either high or low probability. The results suggested that hostage‐taker compliance to a hostage negotiator's low‐probability request was more likely when a series of complied‐with high‐probability requests preceded the low‐probability request. However, two of the three hostage‐taking situations ended violently; therefore, the implications of the high‐probability request sequence for hostage‐taking situations should be assessed in future research.     

Behavioral momentum and stimulus fading in the acquisition and maintenance of child compliance in the home

The provision of a series of requests to which compliance is highly likely (high-probability requests) immediately antecedent to low-probability requests has been used to establish behavioral momentum of compliance. We evaluated a fading procedure for maintaining high levels of compliance obtained with high-probability requests. Fading involved a systematic reduction in the number of high-probability requests and an increase in the latency between the high- and low-probability requests. High levels of compliance for both "do" and "don't" requests were maintained for 16 weeks in a 5-year-old boy with developmental disabilities after the high-probability request sequence was faded. Similar maintenance was obtained for "do" requests in a 15-year-old girl with developmental disabilities. For this subject, however, the high-probability request sequence was ineffective with "don't" requests. When "don't" requests were phrased as "do" requests, the high-probability request sequence produced high levels of compliance to the low-probability request. High levels of compliance to these "do" requests were maintained for 16 weeks after the high-probability request sequence was faded.     

VARIANT AND INVARIANT HIGH-PROBABILITY REQUESTS: INCREASING APPROPRIATE BEHAVIORS IN CHILDREN WITH EMOTIONAL-BEHAVIORAL DISORDERS

This study examined the effects of variant versus invariant high-probability (high-p) request sequences on the performance of requests to initiate a social bid by young children with emotional-behavioral disorders. In the initial phases of the investigation, a multiple baseline design showed that the delivery of invariant sequences (i.e., high-p requests delivered in the same sequence) produced initial increases in compliance to requests to initiate a social bid to a peer. However, increases were not maintained across the invariant condition. The delivery of variant high-p sequences produced increases in compliance to requests to initiate social bids that were maintained across the variant condition. In a follow-up condition, the number of requests within the pool of the variant and invariant high-p requests were controlled. Results of the follow-up condition replicated those found in the initial condition. Implications for applied use and future research are discussed.     

The Applicability of the Door-in-the Face Technique when Established Behavioral Customs Exist

The applicability of the door-in-the-face technique was tested in a monetary donation context where established behavioral standards exist, and where the target person has standards by which to judge the legitimacy of the solicitor's demand. Based on the proposition that exaggerated initial requests might discredit the solicitor and thereby halt the give-and-take process, it was expected that (a) with legitimate initial requests, the probability of compliance with a request would be greater when preceded by a larger request than if presented alone; and that (b) with illegitimate initial requests, the probability of compliance with a second request would be smaller when preceded by a larger request than if presented alone. On the national collection day for the Association for the Rehabilitation of the Mentally Handicapped, 400 subjects were asked to contribute IL 10, 15, or 20. In the experimental groups, these amounts were preceded with requests for larger sums which were judged previously by a pretest to be considered legitimate or illegitimate. In the control groups, subjects were asked to contribute the same amounts, but no larger amounts were first requested. The replicability of the door-in-the-face technique has been proven with requests for which established customs exist. However, the technique was only effective with legitimate initial requests. With initial requests that were previously judged as unreasonable, the technique had a "boomerang effect" and suppressed compliance.     

EVALUATION OF ERRORLESS COMPLIANCE TRAINING IN A GENERAL EDUCATION CLASSROOM

Errorless compliance training (ECT) is a success‐based, nonaversive intervention to reduce child noncompliance that has been shown to be effective in both home and special education settings. In the current study, ECT was evaluated in a multiple‐baseline across‐subjects design with three kindergarten students who displayed noncompliant behavior in their general education classrooms. The researcher delivered a range of classroom requests to each student to determine the probability of compliance for each request. Requests were then arranged in a hierarchy, ranging from those initially yielding high compliance probabilities (level 1) to those yielding low compliance (level 4). At the beginning of treatment, students were presented with a high number of level 1 requests and provided verbal praise for compliance. Over several weeks, lower probability requests were faded in. The three students demonstrated considerable improvement in compliance levels during and following treatment. Improved compliance generalized to low‐probability requests not used in treatment. When the teacher delivered requests, results of generalization were mixed. The results provide preliminary support for the use of errorless compliance training in the general education setting. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Antecedent Strategies to Promote Children’s and Adolescents’ Compliance with Adult Requests: A Review of the Literature

Compliance with adult requests and directives has often been described as a keystone behavior in children, meaning it is associated with engagement in other desirable and socially appropriate behaviors. As such, a great deal of research has been directed toward identifying strategies that increase compliance in children. Antecedent strategies, which focus on increasing the probability of compliance prior to or during the delivery of the directive or request, are popular because they have the potential to prevent noncompliance; however, it is not clear which of the numerous antecedent strategies are effective or for whom. Therefore, a systematic review of the antecedent strategies for compliance was completed. Forty-two studies were identified evaluating eight different antecedent strategies for children aged 1–19. It was determined that high-probability command sequences, effective instruction delivery, and errorless compliance training may all be considered evidence-based antecedent strategies to increase children’s compliance with adult requests.     

Applying Behavioral Momentum Theory to Increase Compliance

ABSTRACT

Behavioral momentum has been used as a theory to create effective interventions to increase compliance with requests, including student compliance in schools. These interventions are based on delivering a series of high probability compliance request-response-reinforcement (RRR) trials at high rates just prior to providing a request for a response that has often resulted in noncompliance. In this article, a real example of a substitute teacher leading her class through the Hokey-Pokey is used to describe and clarify interventions based on behavioral momentum. Analysis of specific procedural variables that may impact the effectiveness of interventions based on behavioral momentum theory is provided to assist practitioners with development and implementation of these proce dures within educational contexts. Recommendations for future research on this innovative technology areprovided.     

Effects of initial request size and timing of a second request on compliance: the foot in the door and the door in the face.

A field experiment tested four separate procedures for influencing compliance to the second of two requests. Two factors--size of initial request and timing of the second request--were included in a 2 X 2 factorial design. Subjects were induced either to comply with a small initial request or to refuse a large initial request. They then received a moderate request either immediately (no delay) or 7--10 days later (delay). Compliance to the second request was the dependent measure. The results in the two delay conditions and the small-request--no delay condition supported a self-perception position in that the induction of one kind of behavior (compliance or noncompliance) carried over to affect subsequent behavior similarly. The large-request--no dealy condition supported a bargaining explanation, as initial refusal to comply led to an increase in subsequent compliance. Possible processes that could account for these results are discussed.     

THE CLASS SPECIFIC EFFECTS OF COMPLIANCE TRAINING WITH “DO” AND “DON'T” REQUESTS: ANALOGUE ANALYSIS AND CLASSROOM APPLICATION

Two experiments are reported in which the relationship between compliance with “do” and “don't” requests was examined with developmentally disabled children. In Experiment 1, a multiple baseline design across subjects with counterbalanced treatment conditions was used to evaluate a compliance training program composed of four phases: (a) baseline, during which no consequences were delivered for compliance, (b) reinforcement for compliance with one targeted “do” request, (c) reinforcement for compliance with one targeted “don't” request, and (d) follow-up with reinforcement on a variable ratio schedule for compliance with any “do” or “don't” request. Results of probes conducted before and after training within each condition indicated that generalized compliance occurred only with requests of the same type as the target exemplar (“do” or “don't”). In Experiment 2, these results were replicated in a classroom setting. Following collection of baseline probe data on student compliance, a teacher training program was successfully implemented to increase reinforcement of compliance first with one “do” and subsequently with one “don't” request of a target student. Results of multiple baseline probes across “do” and “don't” requests indicated that the teacher generalized and maintained reinforcement of compliance with other requests of the same type and to other students, with a resulting increase in student compliance with the type of requests reinforced. The impact of treatment on both teacher and student behavior was socially validated via consumer ratings. Implications of these findings with respect to response class formation and compliance training programs are discussed.     

Limiting Time for Responding Enhances Behavior Corresponding to the Merits of Compliance Appeals: Refutations of Heuristic‐Cue Theory in Service and Consumer Settings

Scarcity has been widely assumed (e.g., Cialdini, 1993) to function as a cue and thereby hinder evaluative scrutiny of compliance‐gaining requests (appeals). In contrast, liberalized commodity theory (Brock & Brannon, 1992) postulated that scarcity should augment evaluative scrutiny of requests and thereby enhance behavioral correspondence to the merits of requests. In natural‐setting tests, 143 telephone operators and 305 fast‐food customers complied more with a request in response to strong than to weak reasons and did so especially when the request was accompanied by scarcity information, operationalized as a time restriction on responding. Thus, restriction did not function as a cue. Rather, in both service and consumer settings, scarcity enhanced behavior that corresponded to the merits of requests. Compliance theorists and practitioners should reconsider the cue claim for compliance appeals and should weigh the implications of bidirectional responding to compliance appeals.     

The effectiveness of the door-in-the-face compliance strategy on friends and strangers

The author examined the impact of the door-in-the-face procedure on concerns about self-presentation and hypothesized that (a) when a friend made door-in-the-face requests, the procedure would increase the participant's concern about self-presentation more than would a single request and (b) when a stranger made door-in-the-face requests, the procedure would not increase the participant's concern about self-presentation more than would a single request. Either friends or strangers presented requests to the participants. Half the requests were in a door-in-the-face format, and the other half were single requests. After receiving the request(s), the participants completed measures of self-presentation concerns and compliance with the request. The results supported the hypothesis.     

The effect of the two feet-in-the-door technique on tobacco deprivation

The ‘Foot-in-the-door’ (FITD) is a well-known compliance technique that increases compliance with a request. Many investigations on this paradigm have generally used prosocial requests to test the effect of the technique. A new evaluation of the effect of the FITD technique was carried out on tobacco deprivation. A two feet-in-the-door technique in which the target request was preceded by two small target requests was used to encourage students to stop smoking for 24 h. The results were compared with two single foot-in-the- door procedures in which the final request was only preceded by one small request, as well as with a control condition using only a 24 h stop-smoking request. Results showed that the single FITD and the two feet-in-the-door procedures were effective to increase verbal compliance (accepting to stop smoking) but only the two feet-in-the-door technique significantly increased behavioural compliance (not smoking for 24 h) with the request.     

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.     

Outcome-Desirability Bias in Resource Management Problems

Sequences of numbers representing prior resource size were presented to participants in a common-pool resource dilemma. The numbers were sampled from uniform probability distributions with either a low variance (low resource uncertainty) or a high variance (high resource uncertainty). Presentations were both sequential and simultaneous. Three groups of 16 undergraduates either estimated the size of the resource when it did not represent value to them; requested an amount from the resource, identified with a sum of money, when the outcome of the requests only depended on resource size; or requested from the resource (sum of money) when the outcome of the requests depended on both resource size and how much others in a group requested. In support of an individual outcome-desirability bias due to selective recall of the number sequences, after sequential presentation larger requests were observed when resource uncertainty was high than when it was low. No effects of resource uncertainty or presentation were found on the estimates of resource size. Whether or not the outcome of the requests depended on others' requests made little difference.     

Use of a high‐probability instructional sequence to increase compliance to feeding demands in the absence of escape extinction

We evaluated the effects of a high‐probability (high‐p) instructional sequence on the feeding‐related compliance (food acceptance) of a young boy diagnosed with a feeding disorder. The high‐p sequence consisted of three presentations of an empty spoon; the low‐probability (low‐p) instruction was the presentation of a spoon with food. Results showed that acceptance of food increased in the presence and not the absence of the high‐p sequence. Data are discussed in terms of the role of high‐p instructional sequences in the treatment of feeding problems. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effects of Compliance Techniques on Spontaneous and Asked-For Helping

Abstract

American college students (N = 90) were exposed to either a foot-in-the-door (small request followed by large request) or door-in-the-face (large request followed by small request) compliance manipulation, or to a control situation, prior to an opportunity to provide either spontaneous help or asked-for help. Results showed faster helping in the asked-for condition relative to the spontaneous condition. Moreover, in the spontaneous condition, the door-in-the-face technique produced faster helping than the foot-in-the-door or control manipulations. The findings support prior contentions of distinctions between the two types of helping and imply that they operate under different mechanisms.     

The effect of legitimacy of a request and compliance versus noncompliance on the evaluation of others1

Eighty male undergraduates read a supposedly true interaction between two workers in a business firm, in which A made a request of B The status of B relative to A, the legitimacy of the request, and compliance versus noncompliance by B were varied It was found (a) that compliers to legitimate requests and noncompliers to illegitimate requests were liked better than noncompliers to legitimate requests or compliers to illegitimate requests, (b) that noncompliers were seen as more internally controlled than were compliers, and (c) that individuals may respond to an atypical situation by imposing upon it a consistent internal structure Status had little effect The data were regarded as clarifying a previous experiment by Ring (1964) as well as suggesting further research     

Image Induction and Social Influence: Explication and Initial Tests

Image induction posits that social influencers can manipulate a target's self-image to gain increased compliance. By preceding a request with a question that creates a salient self-image in a target, targets are more likely to behave consistently with that image by complying with the request. Three studies provide empirical tests of image induction. Results indicate that the addition of an image-inducing pretreatment question is associated with increased rates of compliance when compared to a control group. These findings held across two types of image induction manipulations (helpfulness, willingness to try new things), two types of behaviors (agreeing to complete a survey, agreeing to receive a free soft drink sample), and both face-to-face and written requests.