Implicit theories and compliance with the foot-in-the-door technique

Research has shown that entity theorists (individuals who believe in fixed traits) prefer tasks which minimize the risk of failure. In contrast, incremental theorists (individuals who believe in malleable personality) choose tasks giving them the possibility to improve their skills. A series of studies involving 698 students showed that the 'foot-in-the-door' effect was significant among incremental theorists in a sequence of relatively difficult requests and among entity theorists when the requests were relatively simple. The results are explained by the differences between incremental and entity theorists in their perception of request difficulty and their assessment of the costs paid in fulfilling a request.