"Mommy, mommy, mommy," your young son asks frantically. "Can we please buy a new PlayStation®4 console with all of the games and the wireless controllers so that we don't have to sit near the television?" "No," you reply, "we can't afford to buy all of that!" Seemingly unperturbed by your rejection, your son comes back with "Then can we just buy one new game for our PlayStation®3?" "Okay, I guess so," you answer, not realizing that your precocious son has taken a social psychology class and has just used the __________ technique to get what he wants.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The door-in-the-face technique involves making a large request that is expected to be refused so that a smaller request seems more reasonable by comparison. In this scenario, the son first asks for a new PlayStation®4 with all the games and controllers, which is a large request. After being refused, he makes a smaller request for one new game for the PlayStation®3, which is then accepted. This is a classic example of the door-in-the-face technique.

"Mommy, Mommy, Mommy," Your Young Son Asks Frantically