This psychological concept was proposed in 1996 by Freedman and Fraser. The foot-in-the-door technique is a persuasion tactic in which an individual will start with a simple request, and then continue with a larger request for the next one, with hopes that by having the other fulfilling the simpler request, it will increase the chances of the larger request being fulfilled as well.

Figure 1: Example of Foot-in-the-Door Technique

According to Freedman and Fraser, in the foot-in-the-door technique, the two requests are not necessarily related. They believe that the change in attitude is not caused by any particular issue, person or activity, instead it may be due to compliance in general. Many psychologists then supported this statement as they believe that the foot-in-the-door technique relies on the self-perception theory. Hence, Freedman and Fraser described the human mindset such that, once an individual agreed to a request, it may cause a change in the individual’s attitude. He/she may believe that he/she is the kind of person who agrees to requests made by others and who cooperates with good causes.

In general, the foot-in-the-door technique has three supporting theories.

  • Self-perception Theory

In self-perception theory, statements that gives a sense of “I need your help,” will serve as the trigger, whether stated or unstated.

For example, Google tends to use the statement, “We value your opinion”, which triggers the thoughts in people that they’ve been helpful to Google. This kind of thing is what may cause people to be more willing to leave more reviews in the future.

  • Commitment and Consistency Principle

The commitment and consistency principle is one of Cialdini’s six principle, which explains on how people tend to finish what they have started. This principle explains how people will comply better when the requester starts with a small request and gradually makes a more demanding request.

For example, when a customer is in a store, the salesperson may start an interaction by helping them search for the product they want to buy. Once the customer is engaged in the conversation, it seems to be more difficult for them to turn down bigger request, such as taking the time to watch the demonstration of a product.

  • Mere-agreement Effect

The mere-agreement effect will only start when there is a positive response since the first point of interaction. Those positive responses will then be able to make a connection between the two involved parties and lead to a continuing agreement, even until a bigger request is not anymore too much to be complied with. The success of the mere-agreement effect is similar to the idea of the “yes-ladder”, in which a connection is formed when two parties show similar ideas, thoughts or beliefs. The mere-agreement effect can simply be said as an obsession for agreement and a formation of any questions that will make people agree with you.

For example, in marketing promotions, the mere-agreement effect is frequently used, in questions such as, “Do you want to lose weight without having to exercise?” which leads to people being curious and checking out the product. Another example is question like, “Are you willing to help me out?”, supported with pictures of people living in poverty, which will gain people’s empathy and leading to people being more willing to click on the “donate” button.

However, there are also some limitations and counterweights to the foot-in-the-door technique. When implementing this technique, it is important to make sure that the weight of the request is just right. The request has to be significant enough so that people will develop a sense of helpfulness when fulfilling the request. Yet, it shouldn’t be too much that people will find it too difficult to fulfil and refuse the request.

Other counterweights to be watched out for include the door-in-the-face technique and foot-in-the-face technique. The door-in-the-face technique is the complete opposite of the foot-in-the-door technique; this technique begins with a large request and followed with a smaller request. The goal of doing so is to makes the smaller, actual request seems easier to fulfil and increases the chance of the request being accepted.

Figure 2: Example of Door-in-the-face Technique

The foot-in-the-face technique maximizes compliance, and is usually involving the usage of mid-weight requests for both times. This technique shows how people are usually more compliant when a second request of a similar weight is made directly after the first one is rejected. And in the case that the first request was accepted, the next similar request should be made around 2-3 days after the first one was made.