Question

Manuel wants his parents to give him $15 for the movies. However, he starts by asking them to pay for a permanent subscription to HBO. When they refuse this large request, he then says, “Fine! How about just $15 for a single movie, then?” Relieved, his parents give in to the smaller request. What technique has Manuel used to his advantage?
(A) door-in-the-face
(B) a fear appeal
(C) the lowball technique
(D) foot-in-the-door

Answer 1

Answer:

The correct answer is A. Manuel has used the door-in-the-face technique to convince his parents to give him $15 for the movies.

Explanation:

In social psychology, Door-to-face is a technique of manipulation and social influence. It can be summarized as follows: If you want someone to fulfill your true request, precede it with another very exorbitant request that this person will certainly not accept. This uses the contrast effect: the first large request makes the correct request seem much smaller.