THE INFLUENCE OF VOCAL INTENSITY AND TOUCH ON COMPLIANCE GAINING

A bogus postcard technique was used to study the effects of touch and vocal intensity on the compliance of 248 male and female subjects with a simple request. Subjects in three American cities were approached b y three female confederates and were asked to mail a postcard. A touch to the forearm accompanied half of the requests, while vocal intensit y was varied as either soft, medium, or loud. Comparisons were made fo r rates of total compliance, initial noncompliance, and subsequent non compliance. Contrary to expectations, vocal intensity, rather than tou ch, affected compliance. Results are interpreted in terms of arousal-r eduction, involvement, and status-attribution views of the non-verbal communication and compliance-gaining effect.