Techniques in Psychology - Bait and Switch Technique - Assignment Example

The rates are cheap that a vast majority of applicants can qualify. Upon application, one gets different rates that force one to settle for undesirable rates.

Low Ball Technique

It is a system where people in a given agreement will still agree when one of the involved parties ups or changes the original terms of the agreement. The idea behind it is that the requesters place an offer that is hard to refuse (Kassin, Fein & Markus 2008). When the agreement and the commitment are implemented, they introduce changes to the original agreement. The changes are not beneficial to the customer (Weiten 2012).

        I had an experience of the low ball with a boutique that sells jean trousers. As their customer, they sent an offer that I could not refuse. The offer was a free $20 with free handling and shipping. I applied for the offer, but the very final step required that a buy other trousers worth $50 for me to get the free one. Though this was not what I thought, I ended buying the trouser but realized that the free trouser was not entirely free.      

Foot and Door Technique

It’s a trick used by salespersons to get new customers and increase sales (Hewstone 2005). It is a technique used by activists to acquire donors, recruit volunteers and create behavioral changes. Its mechanism involves making small initial requests that people will accept. After they agree and a given time elapses, a large request similar to a fast one is made (Kalat 2011). They are likely to accept the large request than they would have if the initial request were not made.

            Agreeing to small favors makes one feel obligated to commit to large favors, as well. An example is where a friend asks you to take care of her children for one hour only. After doing that for two days, the friend now requests for five hours. After agreeing to a small request, one gets a feeling of accepting a large request.