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Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, Vol. 7, No. 3, 431-437 (1981)
DOI: 10.1177/014616728173011
© 1981 Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc.

Changes in Helping Behavior

Self- versus Situational Perceptions as Mediators of the Foot-in-the-Door Effect

Robert H. Rittle

Indiana University of, Pennsylvania

College students in an experimental condition were asked to help a child operate a candy machine. On a subsequent request for help from an adult experimenter, these subjects volunteered significantly more of their time than did control subjects. Prior reports suggest, but do not demonstrate, that this foot-in-the-door effect is mediated by a change in self-perceptions of helpfulness. Two possible mediators-self-perceptions and situational perceptions-were measured directly in the present study. Self-perceptions of helpfulness showed a moderate increase for the experimental subjects. Perceptions of potential unpleasantness (e.g., embarrassment) for someone offering help showed a significant decrease for the experimental subjects. The results indicate that the foot-in-the-door effect can be mediated by changes in situational as well as self-perceptions. A recent failure to replicate the foot-in-the-door effect was explained in terms of these findings.


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