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Published on: June 5, 2017
Compliments and receptivity to a courtship request: a field experiment
Nicolas Guéguen1, Jacques Fischer-Lokou, Lubomir Lamy
1Université de Bretagne-Sud, Vannes, France. nicolas.gueguen@univ-ubs.fr
Psychological Reports
|May 10, 2013
Summary
Complimenting a woman on her appearance significantly increased her willingness to accept a drink from a stranger. This study highlights the effectiveness of ingratiation tactics in social influence.
Area of Science:
- Social Psychology
- Behavioral Science
Background:
- Understanding social influence tactics is crucial in interpersonal interactions.
- Ingratiation, a form of impression management, involves attempts to increase liking by another person.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of compliments on compliance rates in a street solicitation scenario.
- To examine the effectiveness of ingratiation as a persuasion technique.
Main Methods:
- 160 young women were approached by a male confederate on the street.
- Two conditions were employed: ingratiation (complimenting physical appearance) and a control (no compliment).
- Compliance was measured by the woman's acceptance of the confederate's request to have a drink.
Main Results:
- A higher rate of compliance was observed in the ingratiation condition compared to the no-compliment condition.
- Compliments regarding physical appearance were directly associated with increased compliance.
Conclusions:
- Ingratiation, specifically through compliments, is an effective strategy for eliciting compliance in young women.
- Physical appearance compliments can significantly enhance the success of social requests.
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