The Use of Deception as a Compliance-Gaining Strategy

This study argues that the persuasive message behaviors of truthful and deceptive communicators may differ strategically. Participants (N = 283) responded to three interpersonally oriented persuasive situations and wrote out instances of compliance-gaining messages. Approximately half the respondents were required to use deception in their persuasive messages. A comparison of truthful and deceptive compliance-gaining messages revealed significant differences in the types of persuasive messages generated: Truthful persuaders composed messages involving positive and negative sanctions; deceptive persuaders composed messages based on rationale or explanation.     

Self-Inference and the Foot-in-the-Door Technique Quantity of Behavior and Attitudinal Mediation

The purpose of this investigation was to test two aspects of the self-perception theory account of the foot-in-the-door (FITD) phenomenon. The first aspect tested was the claim that the greater the quantity of behavior associated with the initial request, the greater the likelihood of compliance with the later request. Quantity of behavior was operation-alized as (a) request size and (b) active versus passive execution, that is, whether the target person actually carried out the request or simply agreed to do so. The second aspect tested was the claim that changes in self-perception mediate the FITD effect. A field experiment was conducted to address these concerns. The results showed that a self-inference explanation is viable; however, a strict self-perception account fails because neither request size nor execution showed any correspondence to attitudinal measures or to compliance with the second request. Implications for a self-inference explanation are discussed.     

Empirical and Theoretical Dimensions of Obscene Phone Calls to Women in the United States

A survey of 354 women (apparently the first representative national sample) found that 16% had received at least one obscene phone call (OPC) within the 6 months preceding the survey. The majority of calls appear to be targeted in some way. Women less than 65 years of age and those who were neither married nor widowed were more likely to receive an OPC. Five theoretical propositions were examined. Two were not supported: namely, that OPCs are pure random incidents or are attacks on socioeconomically powerful women. Two others were reasonably well-supported: that OPC receipt is explained by displaced aggression against a vulnerable population or by perceived availability (a modification of criminal opportunity theory). There was also strong empirical support for the final proposition that sees OPCs occurring in a pattern statistically similar to that of rape.     

Identification in the Self-Managing Organization Characteristics of Target and Tenure

This study examines the characteristics of worker identification with two targets at the same time: the workers' self-managing team and the larger organization that created the teams. We administered the Organizational Identification Questionnaire in such a way as to tap levels of identification with each target and used the results of an ethnographic study of the subjects to enhance our analysis. Our data suggest that workers identified more strongly with their team than with their company, particularly in terms of loyalty. In addition, long-term workers reported more identification with both their team and company than did short-term workers. The results support the assertion that a concertive (or team-based) system of control is more powerful, even if less obtrusive, than its bureaucratic predecessor.