Acceptance technique: the [low ball] (low-balling)

The "lowball" technique is a persuasion strategy that involves first securing a person's agreement or commitment to an attractive and favorable initial request, and then, once the person has agreed, changing the terms of the agreement or revealing hidden costs, making the original request less advantageous.

Despite the change, many people tend to maintain their initial commitment.

Psychological Basis: Commitment and Consistency

This technique is based on the principle of commitment and consistency.

Once a person has made a decision and publicly or internally committed to it (e.g., agreeing to buy a product at a certain price or participating in an activity), a need develops to be consistent with that decision.

Even if conditions change and the original decision is no longer as attractive, the person may feel compelled to follow through in order to avoid the cognitive dissonance that would arise from backing down from an already made commitment.

Furthermore, a Once the initial decision has been made, additional reasons can be generated to justify it, making it more difficult to back out.

Classic Example: Study Participation

One study illustrating this technique involved asking college students if they would be willing to participate in a psychology experiment.

One group was informed in advance that the study would begin at 7:00 a.m. (an unattractive condition).

Another group (the low-ball group) was made the request without mentioning the early time; Once they agreed to participate, they were informed that it would start at 7:00 AM and were given the opportunity to withdraw.

The results showed that a significantly higher percentage of students in the lowball condition (those who agreed before knowing the time) showed up for the experiment at 7:00 AM, compared to those who were informed of the time from the beginning.

Their initial commitment to participate, even if based on incomplete information, influ