What is it in simple terms?

Ask big first, get refused, then ask for what you really want.

How does it differ from foot-in-the-door?

That goes small to big; this goes big to small.

Door-in-the-Face Technique

🧠 Psychology By CampusDown Wiki Editorial Team Last updated October 27, 2026 Views 6

The door-in-the-face technique is a compliance strategy in which a large request likely to be refused is followed by a smaller target request, increasing the chance of agreement.

Contents

1. How it works
2. Alternatives
3. Size and limits
4. FAQ
5. References

How it works

Cialdini et al. (1975) found refusals of a two-year request raised agreement to a one-day favour, explained by reciprocal concessions rooted in Gouldner's (1960) reciprocity norm.

Alternatives

Perceptual contrast, guilt and self-presentation also explain it. It reverses the foot-in-the-door (Freedman & Fraser, 1966); both feature in Cialdini's principles.

Size and limits

Dillard (1991), O'Keefe and Hale (2001) and Feeley et al. (2012) find small-to-moderate effects, stronger for verbal than behavioural compliance and for prosocial requests.

FAQ

What is it in simple terms?: Ask big first, get refused, then ask for what you really want.
How does it differ from foot-in-the-door?: That goes small to big; this goes big to small.

Sources reviewed: 2026-10-26

References

Cialdini, R. B., Vincent, J. E., Lewis, S. K., Catalan, J., Wheeler, D., & Darby, B. L. (1975). Reciprocal concessions procedure for inducing compliance: The door-in-the-face technique. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 31(2), 206–215. The original experiments establishing the technique and reciprocal concessions.
Freedman, J. L., & Fraser, S. C. (1966). Compliance without pressure: The foot-in-the-door technique. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 4(2), 195–202. The opposite small-then-large technique, useful for comparison.
Gouldner, A. W. (1960). The norm of reciprocity: A preliminary statement. American Sociological Review, 25(2), 161–178. Formalises the reciprocity norm underlying the technique.
Dillard, J. P. (1991). The current status of research on sequential-request compliance techniques. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 17(3), 283–288. A meta-analytic summary of sequential-request techniques.
O'Keefe, D. J., & Hale, S. L. (2001). An odds-ratio-based meta-analysis of research on the door-in-the-face influence strategy. Communication Reports, 14(1), 31–38. Re-estimates the effect size using odds ratios.
Feeley, T. H., Anker, A. E., & Aloe, A. M. (2012). The door-in-the-face persuasive message strategy: A meta-analysis of the first 35 years. Communication Monographs, 79(3), 316–343. Synthesises 35 years, distinguishing verbal from behavioural compliance.
Cialdini, R. B. (2001). Influence: Science and practice (4th ed.). Allyn & Bacon. Explains reciprocity and contrast with everyday examples.

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This article was last updated on October 27, 2026. It is based on widely recognized original works and textbooks; when citing it in a paper, please check the original sources listed in the references.