Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion · chapter 3 · id influence-c3-03-the-lowball-technique-in-car-s
“The 'lowball' technique in car sales -- getting an initial commitment then raising the price -- works because the commitment creates psychological inertia that prevents withdrawal even when conditions change.”
TRUE, BUTconfidence: medium⚠ extracted by pipeline, re-audit pending
Receipts
Cialdini et al. (1978), Low-Ball Procedure for Producing Compliance, JPSP 36(5)DOI registry: valid
Participants who initially agreed to a favorable deal and then had the deal worsened still complied at higher rates (56.4%) than those who received only the worse deal from the start (31.6%).
Burger & Petty (1981), The Low-Ball Compliance Technique, JPSP 40(3)DOI registry: valid
Replicated the lowball effect in a series of studies. The effect appears reliable but smaller than in the original Cialdini study.
This claim is a stable, citable object. If you can falsify a verdict, tell us. Corrections are loud here.