1. In my opinion the power of reciprocity is stronger when we receive a free sample from a store salesperson but not by mail.
Our reaction is different when we receive it from salesman because it presupposes personal contact with a person. So we can see his emotions, we are involved in direct communication that allows us understand person’s feeling more effectively, read information from his gestures, mimics. It makes our interaction more personal and close. These facts increase the level of our reciprocity, mutual understanding.
2. There are two basic types of conformity: public conformity and private conformity. These kinds of conformity can be distinguished according to social influence that causes these phenomena. The social influence that leads to public conformity is normative influence. Normative influence presupposes the necessity of “following the crowd” in order not to be punished or rejected. It means person’s desire to be on good with people, to satisfy their expectations in order to be generally recognized and to meet people’s approval.

Normative influence causes changes only in person’s behavior and works when a person is in the group. Private conformity is a result of informational influence. It appears owing to person’s admission other people’s judgments about the reality. Persons expresses conformity when he feels incompetent in order to get some information and to be right. This social influence causes changes both in behavior and belief. This kind of conformity is more permanent. The Asch study demonstrates private conformity. In Asch’s experiment some of examinees had one obvious answer to the question. But after other people’s false answers they changed their mind and also gave false answers. In Sherif study public conformity occurred. In his experiment at the first stage everyone gave his own answer, but in some days everybody came to the mutual agreement to hold general opinion.
3. I had one example of conformity in my own life. My friends and I were the fans of the football team. We attended all its matches, always supported it, and attentively followed its successes and failures. One day a boy who was a fan of our rivals came with us to a football match. And just in some time he became a fan of our team. He was influenced by our ideas, he didn’t want to be rejected, and so he changed his behavior to be in our group.
The example of compliance we can meet almost every day of our life. There is a great pressure on our mind of publicity, sellers, and producers. So we comply to this or that thing, we yield to sellers’ pressure constantly.
I happened to see the example of obedience some years ago. It was in hospital when one doctor called and ordered by phone that a nurse gave a dose of medicine to the patient. The nurse was aware that it was overdose and very dangerous for that patient. But she obeyed. The matter was that a doctor was a legitimate authority for her, and she thought she had to do everything he ordered.
There are certain differences between these forces. Conformity means changes in behavior or belief as a result of real or imagined pressure of social group. It happens when a person just want to be in the group, to be awarded. When we behave in a certain way because it is accepted, when we act in a way, which we are proposed to, it is compliance. In this case we do something, but in our soul we do not agree with what we are doing, we even don’t like it. If we follow some strict orders, when we obey a person who is legitimate authority for us, it is obedience.
4. The results of Milgram’ obedience study were the following. 65% adult male examinees completely obeyed the order to accomplish еру the blow of current towards innocent victim crying in the next room. The point is that in really the blow of current wasn’t traumatizing, but examinees thought it was. 65% reached 450 volts. The determinants influenced the degree of obedience were the followings. 1.Emotional remoteness of a victim. When the victim was at significant distance, examinee didn’t hear his complains, examinees followed direction quite easily till the end. It is easier to express cruelty towards someone who is at certain distance or depersonalized. It makes people more indifferent. 2. Authority’s nearness and legitimacy. When a person giving orders is at direct nearness the number of obeyed people increases. The level of obedience is much higher if the authority is perceived as legitimate. 3.Absence of someone who is capable of setting the example of disobedience. When several examinees refused to obey the experimenter, he ordered one examinee to continue the experiment alone. But he interrupted his participation in the experiment imitating those who disobey. When someone has the courage to say something and disobey, it reduces level of obedience.
5. To produce foot-in-the-door compliance I’ll give different tasks for an experimental group and for a control group. I’ll propose a small request to the experimental group. And than after some time or just immediately I’ll make the second one, that will be larger and more important. For a control group I’ll make only the second question. In this case we’ll achieve the foot-in-the-door effect, if the experimental group complies the second request more often than the control group does.
Speaking of door-in-the-face compliance I’ll use similar tactics. At first the experimental group will be asked an outrageous request that is sure to be declined. Afterwards I’ll ask the second question that will be more reasonable and real. The control group will be asked only one question. Both groups are supposed to say yes. This fact can be explained by a perceptual contrast. It means that the big request made the second smaller one.
So the basic ingredients that produce foot-in-the-door and door-in-the-face compliance are in the first case a small request followed by a larger one, and in the second case a large request followed by a smaller one.

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