Examining Mindlessness and Friendliness in the Evoking-Freedom Compliance-Gaining Technique

Abstract

It was hypothesized that the enhanced compliance rate associated with the use of the “evoking-freedom” technique of compliance gaining may be explained by a causal model in which the use of the technique causes the target to perceive the requester as friendlier, which increases the target’s likelihood of compliance. A research question explored the extent to which targets of the evoking-freedom request had to recall hearing the key phrase for the effect to occur. These issues were examined using previously unreported measures from a larger data collection of a series of six studies in France, Romania, and Russia. Testing the mediation model with the combined sample (N = 720) produced weak fit. Yet the research question was affirmed: Among those exposed to the evoking-freedom phrase, targets who recalled the phrase complied more than those who did not.

Keywords:

• But-You-Are-Free
• Compliance-Gaining
• Friendliness
• Mindlessness
• Social Influence