Rohan is a salesman who in order to sell the soaps produced by his co…

Rohan is a salesman who in order to sell the soaps produced by his company, he goes door to door. He usually begins by making a small request first that the other person is not likely to refuse such as, 'May I have some water?' Once the other person carries out the request, a bigger request is made such as "Would you want to buy our organic, skin safe soap set?". Simply because the other person has already complied with smaller request, s/he feels uncomfortable refusing the second request. This strategy of compliance is known as -

Answer & explanation

Correct answer: option 4

The correct answer is Option (4) → The foot in the door technique

Option (1) Obedience — Incorrect. Obedience is compliance shown to an instruction or order from a person in authority, such as parents, teachers or policemen. A salesman at the door has no authority, and he makes requests, not orders.

Option (2) The deadline technique — Incorrect. Here a ‘last date’ is announced until which a product or offer will be available, so that people hurry to buy. Rohan sets no time limit.

Option (3) The door-in the face technique — Incorrect. This works the other way round: one begins with a large request, and when it is refused, makes the smaller request that was actually wanted. Rohan starts small.

Option (4) The foot in the door technique — Correct. The person begins by making a small request that the other person is not likely to refuse; once it is carried out, a bigger request is made. Having already complied with the smaller request, the other person feels uncomfortable refusing the second. Rohan’s glass of water before the soap set follows these steps one by one.

Note: The techniques of compliance, among them the foot-in-the-door technique, were there in the pre-rationalised NCERT, which NTA followed in 2023, and are not there in the NCERT book (2025-26).

NCERT (Pre-rationalised): “Compliance … The following techniques have been found to work when someone wants another person to comply.

The foot-in-the-door technique : The person begins by making a small request that the other person is not likely to refuse. Once the other person carries out the request, a bigger request is made. Simply because the other person has already complied with the smaller request, he or she may feel uncomfortable refusing the second request. For example, someone may come to us on behalf of a group and give us a gift (something free), saying that it is for promotion. Soon afterwards, another member of the same group may come to us again, and ask us to buy a product made by the group.
The deadline technique : In this technique, a ‘last date’ is announced until which a particular product or ‘an offer’ will be available. The aim is to make people ‘hurry’ and make the purchase before they miss the rare opportunity. It is more likely that people will buy a product under this deadline condition than if there is no such deadline.
The door-in-the-face technique : In this technique, you begin with a large request and when this is refused a later request for something smaller, the one that was actually desired, is made, which is usually granted by the person.”

“Obedience … When compliance is shown to an instruction or order from a person in authority, such as parents, teachers, leaders, or policemen, that behaviour is called obedience.…”

Answer & explanation

Correct answer: option 4

The correct answer is Option (4) → The foot in the door technique

NCERT (Pre-rationalised): “Compliance … The following techniques have been found to work when someone wants another person to comply.

The foot-in-the-door technique : The person begins by making a small request that the other person is not likely to refuse. Once the other person carries out the request, a bigger request is made. Simply because the other person has already complied with the smaller request, he or she may feel uncomfortable refusing the second request. For example, someone may come to us on behalf of a group and give us a gift (something free), saying that it is for promotion. Soon afterwards, another member of the same group may come to us again, and ask us to buy a product made by the group.
The deadline technique : In this technique, a ‘last date’ is announced until which a particular product or ‘an offer’ will be available. The aim is to make people ‘hurry’ and make the purchase before they miss the rare opportunity. It is more likely that people will buy a product under this deadline condition than if there is no such deadline.
The door-in-the-face technique : In this technique, you begin with a large request and when this is refused a later request for something smaller, the one that was actually desired, is made, which is usually granted by the person.”

“Obedience … When compliance is shown to an instruction or order from a person in authority, such as parents, teachers, leaders, or policemen, that behaviour is called obedience.…”