Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion · chapter 3 · id influence-c3-01-the-foot-in-the-door-technique

“The foot-in-the-door technique reliably increases compliance: getting someone to agree to a small request dramatically increases their likelihood of agreeing to a much larger related request later.”

contestedconfidence: high⚠ extracted by pipeline, re-audit pending

Receipts

Freedman & Fraser (1966), Compliance Without Pressure, JPSP 4(2)DOI registry: valid

76% of homeowners who first agreed to display a small 'Be a safe driver' sign later agreed to a large, ugly billboard on their lawn, versus 17% in the control condition.

Gamian-Wilk & Dolinski (2020), Psychological Reports 123(4)DOI registry: valid

Direct replication of Freedman & Fraser in Poland (2003, 2013) and Ukraine (2003, 2013). By 2013, the effect was statistically insignificant in BOTH countries. The original effect size has never been replicated.

Beaman et al. (1983), Fifteen Years of Foot-in-the-Door Research, PSPB 9(2)DOI registry: valid

Meta-analysis of 120 experimental groups found the FITD effect is weak and not nearly as robust as assumed. Nearly half of studies produced no effects or effects in the wrong direction.

This claim is a stable, citable object. If you can falsify a verdict, tell us — corrections are loud here.