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Legitimizing Paltry Contributions: On‐the‐spot vs. Mail‐in Requests 1
Author(s) -
Reeves Robert A.,
Macolini Ruthann M.,
Martin Roy C.
Publication year - 1987
Publication title -
journal of applied social psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.822
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1559-1816
pISSN - 0021-9029
DOI - 10.1111/j.1559-1816.1987.tb00336.x
Subject(s) - compliance (psychology) , situational ethics , psychology , social psychology , constraint (computer aided design) , control (management) , computer science , mathematics , artificial intelligence , geometry
Two versions of the legitimization‐of‐paltry‐contributions technique (Cialdini & Schroeder, 1976) were compared with respect to their effectiveness in generating compliance with requests for charitable donations. When immediate, on‐the‐spot donations were requested, the technique significantly increased compliance rates relative to control conditions; but when the respondents were asked to mail in their contributions, virtually none did. The results offered some support for an image‐maintenance explanation of the technique and were viewed as indicating that the effectiveness of the technique is reliable, but primarily under conditions that impose a high degree of situational constraint upon respondents. Implications of the results for door‐to‐door fundraising and for future research were discussed.