A meta-analysis of the effectiveness of the low-ball compliance-gaining procedure

Abstract Introduction The low-ball (Cialdini et al., 1978)1 is a compliance-gaining technique consisting of making an attractive initial offer to get a person to agree to the request and then making the terms less favorable (target request). Objective and methods The effectiveness of this technique...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inRevue européenne de psychologie appliquée Vol. 66; no. 5; pp. 261 - 267
Main Authors Pascual, A, Carpenter, C.J, Guéguen, N, Girandola, F
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Elsevier SAS 01.09.2016
Elsevier
Subjects
Compliance
Humanities and Social Sciences
Internal Medicine
Low-ball technique
Meta-analysis
Méta-analyse
Psychiatry
Psychology
Request
Requête
Soumission
Technique du low-ball
Soumission
Compliance
Méta-analyse
Technique du low-ball
Request
Requête
Low-ball technique
Meta-analysis
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Summary:Abstract Introduction The low-ball (Cialdini et al., 1978)1 is a compliance-gaining technique consisting of making an attractive initial offer to get a person to agree to the request and then making the terms less favorable (target request). Objective and methods The effectiveness of this technique was evaluated in a meta-analysis using 17 references, 23 studies, 44 subgroups and a combined sample size of 4733. Results Analysis reported a weighted mean correlation coefficient of r = .16 and a weighted mean odds ratio of OR = 2.47. Moderator analysis reported that the low-ball was more efficient with a high cost request in terms of effort for the participant and when the solicitation of the target request is deferred. Conclusion These findings appeared congruent with commitment theoretical explanation of the low-ball.
ISSN:1162-9088
1878-3457
DOI:10.1016/j.erap.2016.06.004