Abstract
Cialdini, Trost, and Newsom build the PFC Scale — preference for consistency — and show it predicts who succumbs to foot-in-the-door, cognitive balance, and related consistency traps.
Cialdini, R. B., Trost, M. R., & Newsom, J. T. (1995). Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69(2), 318–328. DOI
Key findings
- PFC Scale — A validated measure of preference for consistency — stable individual difference.
- Predicts susceptibility — High PFC scores forecast who shows classic consistency effects in lab paradigms.
- Foot-in-door link — Those who hate inconsistency honour small yeses into bigger commitments.
- Surprising breadth — Consistency drive shows up in balance, labelling, and escalation — not one trick only.
Limits
PFC scale development — predicts consistency tricks in controlled settings; field manipulation ethics still matter.
Application
When a small public yes locks a bigger later yes — consistency pressure is doing work; name it before you escalate the ask. See Pyramid of commitment.