Please choose the letter of the sentence that best expresses the implied main idea of each
of the following paragraphs.
1lmagine a fundraiser comes to your door and asks for a five-hundred-dollar
contribution. 2 You laughingly refuse, telling her that the amount is way out of your
league. 3She then asks for a ten-dollar contribution. If you are like most people, you'll
probably be a lot more agreeable than if she hadn't asked for the huge contribution first.
4Similarly, college students were stopped on the street and asked to agree to a
substantial favor-acting as unpaid counselors for juvenile offeriders two hours a week
for two years. 5Not surprisingly, no one agreed to such an outrageous request. But when
they were later asked the considerably smaller favor of taking a group of juvenile
offenders on a two-hour trip to the zoo, half the people complied. 7In comparison, only 17
percent of a control group of subjects who had not first received the larger request
agreed.
People are basically selfish and unwilling to help others.
Only a small percentage of any group will agree to perform voluntary service.
People are more willing to agree to a small favor after they have refused a large one.
More people are willing to contribute money to a cause than donate their time.