240 Curr Psychol (2010) 29:235–246 than a less salient, inconsequential one, thus lowering resistance to the subsequent target request. The Present Research In sum, there is accumulating evidence suggesting that actively responding to the initial request phase of a FITD technique may affect the extent of resource depletion. This state of resource depletion may capture the mindlessness endemic to many social influence contexts. In addition, resource depletion has been demonstrated to facilitate less deliberative, more impulsive and heuristic decision making (see Fennis et al. 2009). Translated to the present context, we therefore expect that a more cognitively demanding FITD script will produce higher compliance rates than a less demanding script. Moreover, we hypothesize that the type of FITD script will affect the extent of target resource depletion. Finally, we expect self-regulatory resource depletion to mediate the impact of the technique on compliance. Method Overview and Participants We tested our hypotheses in a single factor design with type of influence technique (demanding vs. undemanding initial request) as between-subjects factor and self- regulatory resource depletion and compliance as dependent variables. A total of 56 individuals (47 male and 9 female) with a mean age of 21.4 years (SD = 2.86) participated in the experiment. Participants were approached by three confederates (two males, one female) claiming to be members of a student action group that aims to improve academic education. They asked participants to take part in a short study on the issue conducted by the group in return for 2.50 Euros. After they agreed, participants were seated in laptop-equipped cubicles where the entire experiment took place, and all instructions were presented. We used a subtype of the FITD compliance procedure termed the ‘continued questions procedure’ (CQP). In this procedure, the target request is preceded by a smaller initial request. This initial request consists of a number of probing questions which are semantically related to the target request (see Burger 1999). Hence, both the initial request and the target request pertained to the issue of improving education. Previous research has shown that this type of FITD technique is effective in promoting compliance (see Burger 1999; Fennis et al. 2009). The technique hinges on the heuristic principle of consistency and commitment (Cialdini 1993). The target is thought to infer a positive attitude from his/her active responses to the initial questions which promotes a favorable disposition to agree with the target request (Burger 1999). Note that our reasoning implies that such heuristic decision- making is particularly likely when the target is deprived of his/her self-control resources and consequently is in a state of mindlessness. Moreover, we expect and