An Examination of Self-Perception Mediation of the Foot-in-the-Door Effect

In 1966, Freedman and Fraser demonstrated that an individual is more likely to comply with a large request for help if that person has previously agreed to an initial small request—a phenomenon they called the "foot-in-the-door" effect. In the present survey, studies that have sought to replicate the foot-inthe-door effect are reviewed. The adequacy of a self-perception explanation for the foot-in-the-door effect is assessed by examining (a) the importance of the size of the initial request; (b) the effect of noncompliance with the initial request; (c) the impact of salient external justifications for the initial act of compliance; (d) the impact of social labels on subsequent levels of compliance; and (e) attempts at actually measuring changes in self-perception. Alternative explanations of the foot-in-the-door effect are considered and rejected, and directions for future research are outlined.