persuasion For example, weight loss centers commonly encourage clients to share their goals with as many friends, relatives, and neighbors as they can, understanding that this public commitment and pressure often works when other methods don't. An experiment conducted by Pallak, Cook, and Sullivan in Iowa City used an interviewer who offered free energysaving hints to natural gas users. Those residents who agreed to try to conserve energy would have their names publicized in newspaper articles as publicspirited, fuelconserving citizens. The effect was immediate. One month later, when the utility companies checked their meters, the homeowners in the publication sample had each saved an average of 422 cubic feet of natural gas, a decrease of 12.2 percent. The chance to have their names in the paper had motivated these residents to put forth substantial conservation efforts for a period of one month. Even during the months when their names weren't in the paper, the r families continued to conserve gas. When a letter went out stating that their names would no longer be printed in the paper, the families did not return to their previous wasteful energy usage, as was expected; rather, they continued to conserve energy.10 Getting Your Foot in the Door aspect of the law of dissonance is the urge to remain consistent with it c°mmitments. Even if someone begins with a small request then follows up with a larger request, we still tend to remain consistent in our behavior call ?nsWers> his technique of capitalizing on such a principle has been tio h У SeVCral names' including "footinthedoor" (FITD), selfpercep meory, or the "sequential request." Basically, it is a means of using a When S SepercePtion to motivate her to partake of the desired action, an individual complies a first time, she perceives herself to be helpful. If she is asked to comply a second time in an even greater way, she is to consent. In an effort to maintain consistency with the first impression and with her own selfperception, she agrees to give even more of themselves The following outline highlights three key principles in learning how to use this technique: 1. Small commitments often later lead to large commitments. For example, salespeople often focus first on securing an initial order, even if it's a small one. Once this is accomplished, the customer will be more likely to commit to buying from them again. 2. Written commitments are usually more powerful than verbal commitments. We know the power of the written word. When contracts are signed and promises put into writing, the commitment level correspondingly increases tenfold. 3. Public commitments are stronger than private commitments. Taking a public stand that is witnessed by others compels us to continually endorse that commitment. Otherwise, we risk being seen as inconsistent, weak, or dishonest. For example, as mentioned earlier, many weightloss centers have their clients write down and share their goals with as many people as possible, thereby decreasing the likelihood of failure. persuasion