The Science of Gaining Compliance

The Science of Gaining Compliance provides readers with an examination of key compliance-gaining techniques with the goal of making sense of their form, effects, mediators, and moderators. Readers learn how compliance-gaining differs from other forms of social influence, such as persuasion, because it takes place in the active communication context of interpersonal encounters. The text emphasizes how compliance-gaining techniques don't rely on applying pressure and also focus on changing behavior, rendering them a unique form of interpersonal communication.

Opening chapters introduce the concept of compliance-gaining and investigate multimessage techniques, including foot-in-the-door, door-in-the-face, and temptation techniques such as lowballing, bait-and-switch, and the lure. Later chapters present a set of single-message techniques, including pregiving, instilling guilt, direct requests, and confusion strategies. The final chapter summarizes each of the techniques as well as their similarities and differences.

The Science of Gaining Compliance is an exceptional text for courses and programs in communication and social influence.