The Foot in the Door

The foot in the door strategy is a compliance tactic based on the assumption that agreeing to a minor request improves the likelihood of agreeing to a larger one.

So, you make a minor request at first, and if the recipient agrees to it, it becomes more difficult for them to refuse a larger one.

Assume one of your buddy missed the last lecture and requested to borrow your notes. This is a minor request that seemed reasonable, so you lend your friend the notes. A week later, the same acquaintance approaches you and requests all of your notes.

Would you agree to this huge request?

The constancy principle underpins the foot-in-the-door technique. People tend not to contradict themselves in their behaviours as well as their views. This indicates that the strategy will work as long as the request is consistent with or comparable in nature to the initial little request.