The door-in-the-face (DITF) technique is a compliance method commonly studied in social psychology. The persuader attempts to convince the respondent to comply by making a large request that the respondent will most likely turn down, much like a metaphorical slamming of a door in the persuader's face. The respondent is then more likely to agree to a second, more reasonable request, compared to the same reasonable request made in isolation.
DITF is a technique well known to Donald Trump. It is a technique that he has utilized not only throughout his life but more notably throughout this campaign. For example, Trump's original "ban on all Muslims entering the United States" has now been replaced with a ban on "citizens from countries that have been compromised by terrorism." Such a proposal, despite being functionally similar to the original, has received widespread support from the public due to not only how it was rephrased, but more importantly by the fact that it was offered as a moderate, more palatable policy in comparison to a more extreme option. This is the essence of DITF, and we are witnessing Donald perform this on the nation once again.
Donald Trump knows that a general election pivot is necessary. He knows that continuing the strategy he used during the primaries will result in a loss of historic proportions. So why has he not yet performed this "pivot"? Why is he still making inflammatory comments that he knows the media, which is overwhelmingly stacked against him, will exploit?
Because he also recognizes another fact -- appearing "presidential" is the only thing that his campaign is missing, and due to his life of straight shooting, no bullshit, offensive manner of speaking, appearing presidential is not something he's very good at . Further compounding this problem is that even if Trump were to act as presidential as he possibly could, he would still appear unsophisticated and amateurish compared to Hillary Clinton, who has spent her entire adult life learning and practicing what to say and how to say it in order to give an appearance of intelligence, competence, and reliability. Even though the majority of Americans know Hillary is a liar, and they know her policies have been failures, right now they prefer her simply because she looks and acts the part. That's how powerful the art of persuasion is. Human rationality can be completely bypassed through certain manners of behavior and speaking styles and Clinton, as well as politicians throughout history, have exploited this well.
So Trump has a conundrum. He knows his policies are popular. He knows Americans want drastic change. He knows they desperately want to choose someone other than Hillary Clinton. But he also knows he'll never be able to deliver his message as well as Clinton can deliver hers.
But he also knows how to perform DITF. And he is performing it as follows:
The persuader attempts to convince the respondent to comply by making a large request that the respondent will most likely turn down
Donald Trump is trying to convince the American people to elect him as their President. By acting as unpresidential, unsophisticated, and as childish as possible, he knows that this is a request that the majority of Americans will turn down (and they are currently turning it down).
The respondent is then more likely to agree to a second, more reasonable request, compared to the same reasonable request made in isolation.
Donald will then present himself, likely within the next week or two, in the most presidential manner he can possibly muster. And the American people will eat it up. Trump will likely remain 10 points ahead for the rest of the election once this kicks in. Because Trump has now created a scenario in which "Presidential" Donald Trump will no longer be compared to "Presidential" Hillary Clinton -- he will instead be compared to "unpresidential" Donald Trump. And compared to this Trump, the one we saw in the primary and, more notably, post-convention this new "Presidential" Donald Trump will be a breath of fresh air. He'll speak in full sentences, not streams on consciousness. He'll stay on topic, not wander towards irrelevant inconveniences. And, most importantly, he'll act like the leader of the Republican Party instead of a Hillary plant who wants to watch it sink to the bottom of the ocean.
This campaign will be studied for generations.
