Mindfulness and Compliance: The Way We Make Requests Influences Compliance With the Foot-in-the-Door Strategy.

The foot-in-the-door effect is considered more effective when a time lapse occurs between performing an initial, smaller request and being asked a second request. It has been hypothesized that mindfulness moderates the effectiveness of two versions of the strategy - time-delay and no-delay foot-in-the-door. The greater magnitude of time-delay foot-in-the-door is considered to be connected with increased mindfulness. The aim of this study was to verify the assumption concerning mindfulness as a state triggering time-delay foot-in-the-door. In a field experiment ( N = 249), we manipulated the time lapse and kind of reason (real, placebic, and no reason) accompanying a difficult or less difficult target request. This extended Langer et al. replication indicates that time-delay foot-in-the-door is indeed greater after mindfulness activation.