Bart complied with his friends' request to join them in smashing decorative pumpkins early one halloween evening. later that night he was surprised by his own failure to resist their pressures to throw eggs at passing police cars. bart's experience best illustrates the:

Bart's experience is a great illustration of the foot-in-the-door phenomenon. In other words, once Bart allowed himself to become involved in a minor experience of unsavory behavior, it became easier to persuade him to become involved in more serious detrimental behavior.