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Biomedical subjects

Nicolas Guéguen

Publications and source records attributed to Nicolas Guéguen.

15 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2005

Foot-in-the-door and door-in-the-face: a comparative meta-analytic study.

The so-called foot-in-the-door and door-in-the-face techniques have been generally considered as procedures which may consistently influence others' behavior. This study compared efficiency (in terms of compliance rates with various target requests) of both techniques using meta-analysis. It is based on the accumulated studies directly comparing foot-in-the-door (n=22, subjects= 1581) and door-in-the-face (n=22, subjects= 1611) under a similar target request. Analysis indicated no significant differences in efficiency between the paradigms.

Humans↗
PubMed2005

Odd versus even prices and consumers' behavior.

Schindler and Kibarian reported prices ending with a nine were associated with more purchases among customers who were women. To generalize this effect to a new business context, two groups of 200 people were solicited at home and asked to buy pancakes to raise money for a charitable organization. In half of the cases, the price of pancakes was 1.99euro, and in the other half they were proposed at 2.00euro. Analysis showed that the price ending with nine was associated with more subjects agreeing to the request, 118 of 200 vs 91 of 200.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Sound level of background music and alcohol consumption: an empirical evaluation.

The effect of background music on alcohol consumption has been widely researched in the literature, but few studies have tested the effect of sound level on drinking behavior. An experiment was carried out in two bars to test patrons' response to music's loudness. Using random assignment, patrons were exposed to a sound level which was higher than that usually employed in the bars in which the study took place. Analysis showed that a higher sound level than usual was associated with consuming more drinks. An "arousal" hypothesis is used to explain the findings.

Alcohol Drinking↗
PubMed2004

Hitchhikers' smiles and receipt of help.

The positive association of smiling on helping behavior is well established in social psychology. Nevertheless, no study was found for the effect of smiling on hitchhiking success. An experiment was carried out in France where hitchhiking is a legal and common practice. Four confederates, 2 young men and 2 young women, selected for their "average attractiveness" hitchhiked, signaled to 800 (503 men and 297 women) motorists driving along the road on a peninsula. In half of the cases, the confederate smiled at the motorist. Analysis showed that, when hitchhiking women were smiling, motorists stopped more frequently but not when hitchhikers were men. Also, in all conditions, motorists who stopped were male.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Cultural differences in altruistic behavior: quasi replication of Uranowitz's "foot-in-the-door with implicit demand".

A study was designed to validate in France the so-called foot-in-the-door technique with implicit demand described by Uranowitz in 1975, a test of altruistic behavior shown previously to have a positive effect on compliance. However, in conditions of a high-justification request. Uranowitz did not obtain the subjects' compliance. In the present study of foot-in-the-door with implicit demand, subjects complied with the request whatever the justification. This result can be interpreted as differences in perceptions of the justifications among subjects of our study and those of Uranowitz.

Altruism↗
PubMed2003

Fund-raising on the web: the effect of an electronic door-in-the-face technique on compliance to a request.

In an attempt to test the door-in-the-face (DITF) technique in a computer-mediated context, 1,607 men and women taken at random in various e-mail lists were solicited to visit a web site for the profit of a humanitarian organization. In DITF condition, subjects were first solicited by an exaggerated request and, after refusing, were solicited for a small donation. In control condition the donation solicitation was formulated directly. In all the cases, the request was manipulated by the order of the successive HTML pages of the site. Results show that the DITF procedure increase compliance to the last request. The theoretical implication of the effect of this technique in a computer-communication context is discussed.

Attitude↗
PubMed2003

Another evaluation of touch and helping behavior.

Although positive effect of touch on compliance has been widely reported, new evaluation was made with an unusual request. 80 male bus drivers were solicited by a male or a female confederate to take the bus despite having too little money for the fare. Bus drivers were briefly touched by the confederate during solicitation. Analysis showed that bus drivers who were touched accepted the request more favorably but only when made by a female.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Social presence reinforcement and computer-mediated communication: the effect of the solicitor's photography on compliance to a survey request made by e-mail.

Personal information is scarce in computer-mediated communication. So when information about the sender is attached with an e-mail, this could induce a positive feeling toward the sender. An experiment was carried out where a male and a female student-solicitor, by way of an e-mail, requested a student-subject to participate in a survey. In half of the cases, a digital photograph of the solicitor appeared at the end of the e-mail. Results show that subjects agreed more readily to the request in the experimental condition than in the control condition where no digital photograph was sent with the e-mail. The importance of social information on computer-mediated communication is used to explain such results.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Solicitation by e-mail and solicitor's status: a field study of social influence on the web.

Personal information is scarce in computer-mediated communication. So when information about the sender is attached with his or her e-mail, this could induce a powerful effect toward the receptor. Two experiments were carried out where males and females were solicited by e-mail to respond to a survey on their foods habits. In the first experiment, students were solicited whereas, in the second experiment, people taken at random in various e-mails lists were solicited. The questionnaire was an HTML form attached with the e-mail. The signature of the solicitor was presented as of a high status (a scientist) or of a mid status (an undergraduate student). Results show that, in both experiments, subjects agreed more favorably to the request when the solicitor was of high status. The importance of social information on computer-mediated communication is used to explain such results.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Request solicitation and semantic evocation of freedom: an evaluation in a computer-mediated communication context.

The "But you are free of..." technique is a compliance procedure which solicits someone to comply with a request by simply telling him that he is free to accept or to refuse the request. This semantic evocation leads to increased compliance with the request. A new evaluation of the generality of this technique was tested in an experiment in which subjects received an anonymous electronic mail which asked them to consult the site of a humanitarian association for children. Analysis showed that, when the semantic evocation of freedom is included in the message, a higher compliance rate was observed than in a situation in which this evocation was omitted.

Advertising↗
PubMed2002

Touch, awareness of touch, and compliance with a request.

In certain situations it has been shown that touch has a positive effect on the compliance with a request expressed by a stranger. However, the difference between the effect of touch on request compliance between people who had noticed and those who had not noticed this contact has never been taken into account. In this experiment a female confederate asked 227 women to answer a questionnaire. When asking for their collaboration the forearm was or was not touched for a brief period of 1 to 2 seconds. Analysis showed that touch was associated with significantly higher compliance to the request but no difference was found between subjects who had noticed the tactual contact and subjects who had not noticed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

An evaluation of touch on a large request: a field setting.

The effect of touch on compliance to a request has traditionally been tested with small solicitation (answer to a small questionnaire, give a dime to a confederate ....). In our experiment a larger request was evaluated. Passersby, 53 men and 67 women, were asked by two confederates to look after a large and very excited dog for 10 minutes because each wanted to go into a pharmacy where animals were prohibited. In half of the cases, subjects were touched during the request. Analysis showed that, when touched, 55% of the subjects agreed with the request whereas 35% only in the no-touch control condition agreed. This finding indicates that touch was positively associated with the subjects' compliance (p<.03).

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

Low-ball and compliance to a request: an application in a field setting.

The low-ball refers to a compliance technique in which a demand of someone to agree to a request is followed by telling the person the real cost of the request. The number of people who maintain their first decision is larger than the number in the condition in which the real cost of the request is stated prior to the initial compliance. Researches in this paradigm traditionally included a request addressed by a professor to students but was never tested between strangers. So, an experiment was carried out in which people were solicited to keep a dog (8 kg) on a lead until a male confederate returned from a visit to someone in a hospital. In low-ball condition, the confederate told the subject who agreed to the request that it would take 30 min., whereas in the control condition the confederate gave this information when stating his request. Analysis showed that low-ball technique leads people to maintain their first decision.

Adult↗