Chapter 1 - Universiteit Twente

Stage One: Weakening the Ramparts
In extension to Experiments 2.2 and 2.3, we kept consistent the topic of the questions
between the highly demanding FITD condition and the less demanding condition. Before
we exposed participants to a target request eliciting compliance, we measured selfregulation
using the well-known Stroop task (Stroop, 1935), which has been shown to be
a valid way to measure self-control ability (Vohs et al., 2005; Wallace & Baumeister, 2002).
Our prediction was that the type of influence technique would evince a main effect on selfregulatory
resource depletion. Moreover, we expected that self-regulatory resources would
mediate the impact of the type of technique on compliance, as the two-stage model holds.
Design and procedure
A total of 37 undergraduate students (10 female, 27 male, mean age 21.3 years, SD =
2.30) participated in a single factor (type of FITD influence attempt: demanding vs.
undemanding initial request) between-subjects design.
Prior to arrival at the laboratory, participants were randomly assigned to condition.
Upon arrival, participants were told that they would take part in a study on consumer
behavior ostensibly conducted on behalf of the Dutch Tax and Customs Administration
and were to be paid € 2.50 for participating. In the cognitively demanding FITD
condition, participants were presented with an initial request, which asked them a
series of 10 challenging questions regarding their knowledge of consumer taxes and
the Tax and Customs Administration. Answering these questions required high-level
intellectual processing. In the undemanding condition, the 10 questions were on the
same topic (consumer taxes) but did not require active and controlled problem solving
and therefore were considered less demanding (see Schmeichel et al., 2003). For
instance, in the cognitively demanding FITD condition, participants were asked: “One of
the problems of the Tax and Customs Administration is the fact that many people tend
to submit their tax claims after the yearly deadline. What steps can the Administration
take to prevent this without giving citizens a fine?” In contrast, one of the questions in
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