Thesis (Ph. D. in Psychology)--Vanderbilt University, Dec. 2007. / Title from title screen. Includes bibliographical references.

A field experiment was conducted in a pediatric clinic to learn what impact use of a sequential persuasion strategy would have on the maternal role in attending well child exams. It was found that mothers who received an initial smaller request to sign a card pledging to bring a child for well child exams reported that they would attend significantly more often than mothers who did not receive the initial smaller request. Use of a FITD technique did not erode pediatrician credibility, maternal interpersonal attraction, or maternal satisfaction with the health care experience. The pledge card was significantly associated with higher ratings of health organization credibility. Several maternal characteristics were also examined for associations with maternal attitudes in this context and significant relationships were found regarding income, age, occupation, ethnicity, and education.

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