Compliance

    Conformity is the change in a person’s behaviour to go along with the group, even if he does not agree with the group. Compliance can be a form of conformity. Compliance is going along with a request or demand, even if you do not agree with the request. In Asch’s studies, the participants complied by giving the wrong answers, but privately did not accept that the obvious wrong answers were correct.

    Compliance involves changing your behavior because someone asked you to do so. While you may have had the option to refuse the request, you chose to comply. Unlike obedience, in which the individual making the request for change is in a position of authority, compliance does not rely a power differential.

    It is important to distinguish between compliance and acceptance. Compliance involves changing a behavior in public, but not necessarily in private. While you might modify your behavior, it does not mean that you necessarily agree with it.

    There are many different situations where compliance comes into play. Some examples include:

• Buying something because a salesperson makes a pitch and then asks you to make a purchase
• Agreeing when a friend asks, "Can you do me a favor?"
• Seeing an ad on a website, clicking it, and then making a purchase

Sometimes compliance can involve a direct request. Someone asks you specifically to do something, and you do it. In other cases, the request may be more subtle and even insidious.

Key Factors Affecting Compliance

The presence of these factors makes it more likely that people will comply.

1. Affinity: People are more likely to comply when they believe they share something in common with the person making the request.
2. Group influence: Being in the immediate presence of a group makes compliance more likely.
3. Group size: The likelihood of compliance increases with the number of people present. If only one or two people are present, a person might buck the group opinion and refuse to comply.
4. Group affiliation: When group affiliation is important to people, they are more likely to comply with social pressure. For example, if a college student places great importance on belonging to a college fraternity, they are more likely to go along with the group's requests even if it goes against their own beliefs or wishes.

Techniques Used in Compliance:

Compliance is a major topic of interest within the field of consumer psychology. This specialty area focuses on the psychology of consumer behaviour, including how sellers can influence buyers and persuade them to purchase goods and services.

Marketers often rely on a number of different strategies to obtain compliance from consumers. The following are just a few common techniques they might use.

1. The "Door-in-the-Face" Technique

In this approach, marketers start by asking for a large commitment. When the other person refuses, they then make a smaller and more reasonable request.

For example, imagine that a business owner asks you to make a large investment in a new business opportunity. After you decline the request, the business owner asks if you could at least make a small product purchase to help them out.

After refusing the first offer, you might feel compelled to comply with their second appeal.

2. The "Foot-in-the-Door" Technique

In this approach, marketers start by asking for and obtaining a small commitment. Once you have complied with the first request, you are more likely to also comply with a second, larger request.

For example, your coworker asks if you fill in for them for a day. After you say yes, they then ask if you could just continue to fill in for the rest of the week.

3. The "That's-Not-All" Technique

Often on a television infomercial, once a product has been pitched, the seller then adds an additional offer before the potential purchaser has made a decision.

"That's not all," the salesperson might suggest, "If you buy a set of widgets now, we'll throw in an extra widget for free!" The goal is to make the offer as appealing as possible.

4. The "Lowball" Technique

This strategy involves getting a person to make a commitment and then raising the terms or stakes of that commitment.

For example, a salesperson might get you to agree to buy a particular cell phone plan at a low price before adding on a number of hidden fees that then make the plan much more costly.

5. Ingratiation

This approach involves gaining approval from the target in order to gain compliance. Strategies such as flattering the target or presenting oneself in a way that appeals to the individual are often used in this approach.

6. Reciprocity

People are more likely to comply if they feel that the other person has already done something for them. We have been socialized to believe that if people extend kindness to us, we should return the favour. Researchers have found that the reciprocity effect is so strong that it can work even when the initial favour is uninvited or comes from someone we do not like.

 

Type of Social Influence	Description
Conformity	Changing your behavior to go along with the group even if you do not agree with the group
Compliance	Going along with a request or demand
Normative social influence	Conformity to a group norm to fit in, feel good, and be accepted by the group
Informational social influence	Conformity to a group norm prompted by the belief that the group is competent and has the correct information
Obedience	Changing your behavior to please an authority figure or to avoid aversive consequences