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Psychological reactance as a function of thought versus behavioral control
Abstract
How can people persuade and influence others? One option is to directly target others' behavior through rules and incentives. Another increasingly popular option, however, is to focus on modifying what others think rather than how they behave, and hoping behaviors will then change as a result. The assumption underlying this latter approach is that targeting thoughts and attitudes might be easier or more effective than targeting behaviors. Drawing from psychological reactance theory (Brehm, 1966), we investigate whether efforts targeted at controlling what people think, rather than how they behave, will indeed be met with differing levels of psychological reactance. Across four studies, we find that people experience greater psychological reactance towards efforts to control their thoughts compared to efforts to control their behaviors. Specifically, thought control, compared to behavioral control, led people to experience greater anger and negativity, and to report lowered motivation to engage in requested behaviors (Study 1). These effects occurred, at least in part, because people perceived that those who try to control their thoughts are likely to try to control their behaviors too, but not vice versa. As a result, thought control elicited greater reactance than behavioral control because the former was perceived as more restrictive than the latter (Studies 2 & 3). We also address other explanations for why thought control may elicit more reactance than behavioral control (Study 4).
... Perceived control can trigger perceived risks (Wang et al, 2016). If a business becomes controlling in a high-risk situation, it compels customers to reassert their autonomy and flee to regain more control (Ma, Tang, & Kay, 2019;Yap et al., 2021). Therefore, when customers are able to retain autonomy in a situation in which they perceive the business as being too controlling, they tend to be defensive, uncooperative, and less committed. ...
... Contact tracing is widely characterized as surveillance that controls people (Brough & Martin, 2021;Prakash & Das, 2022). If privacy practices of contact tracing are too controlling and trigger perceived risks (Wang et al, 2016), customers will act defensively to protect their privacy (Ma et al., 2019). Such defensive actions are more likely to happen once customers discover opportunities to gain control (Ma et al., 2019). ...
... If privacy practices of contact tracing are too controlling and trigger perceived risks (Wang et al, 2016), customers will act defensively to protect their privacy (Ma et al., 2019). Such defensive actions are more likely to happen once customers discover opportunities to gain control (Ma et al., 2019). Following the previous hypothesis, agreeing to the disclosure request and then providing falsified information are inconspicuous coping methods for customers to defend their privacy without being noticed by the business or other parties (Lwin et al., 2007). ...
Requesting personal information in frontline service encounters raises privacy concerns among customers. The proximity contact tracing that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic provides an intriguing context of information requests. Hospitality venues required contact tracing details from customers, and customer cooperation varied with concerns about privacy. Drawing on gossip theory, we investigate the roles of businesses' data privacy practices and government support in driving customers' responses to contact tracing. Our findings show that perceived transparency of a business's privacy practices has a positive effect on customers' commitment to the business, while perceived control exerts a negative effect on commitment. These effects are mediated by customers' information falsification rather than disclosure, because the former is a sensitive behavioral indicator of privacy concerns. The results also reveal the moderating roles of government support. This research contributes to the customer data privacy literature by demonstrating the distinct effects of perceived transparency and control on commitment and revealing the underlying mechanism. Moreover, the research extends the conceptual understanding of privacy practices from online contexts to face-to-face contexts of frontline service. The findings offer implications for the management of customer data privacy.
... In addition, as vaccine willingness is multifaceted, complex, and driven by a variety of emotional, social, cultural, political, and religious variables [7,21], several studies have sought to identify further determinants of COVID-19 vaccine willingness [7,10,11,15,22]. Despite the well-established fact that scarcity and prohibition (which both lead to psychological reactance) influence individuals' behavioural intentions and decisions [23][24][25][26][27][28], no study has yet to explore their effect on individuals' intentions to accept, hesitate about, or refuse COVID-19 vaccination. This study suggests that these two factors, which both lead to psychological reactance, are among the factors that influence individuals' vaccination-related behaviours and decisions. ...
... Thus, both conditions in Iran (the prohibition of British and American vaccines and the very low speed of vaccination) lead to reactance behaviour. Psychological reactance is often considered to be one of the most prominent constructs in human behaviour and a strong determinant of decision-making [23,[25][26][27][28]49]. We aim to investigate the influence of state financial assistance during pandemic lockdowns. ...
Background:
Despite the public acceptance of COVID-19 vaccines being necessary to achieve ample immunization rates and, in turn, put an end to the global pandemic, vaccine hesitancy and refusal are on the rise. To detect and address the concerns of those who are hesitant, it is critical to identify all potential factors behind vaccine decision-making in order to devise strategies to enhance vaccine acceptance and uptake.
Methods:
We retrieved a total of 742 and 685 completed questionnaires from Iran and France, respectively; after initial cleaning and data screening, the number of usable questionnaires dropped to 714 and 664. We evaluate the distinct vaccination and lockdown restrictions in Iran and France and used multi-group analysis to evaluate structural path models of French and Iranian people, revealing a significant difference between the two groups in vaccination-related decisions. This empirical study is one of the first to employ the measurement invariance was evaluated using the measurement invariance for composite (MICOM) approach in testing partial least squares-structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) measurement invariance and one of the first to use both Henseler's MGA and Henseler's permutation method to perform multi-group analysis (MGA).
Results:
MGA revealed significant differences in the effects of influential factors on vaccine acceptance across France and Iran. In other words, many determining factors are likely to be context-dependent. The study revealed that reactance (due to restrictions and perceived scarcity) and financial strain significantly influenced COVID-19 vaccine acceptance and uptake among Iranians; however, among the French, confidence, and convenience were far more influential.
Conclusions:
These cross-cultural differences point to the importance of conducting additional research in this area that directly compares various effects across countries. Each country's public health authorities and policymakers could use these insights to develop more targeted strategies and, in turn, boost vaccination rates among the public.
... In addition, as vaccine willingness is multifaceted, complex, and driven by a variety of emotional, social, cultural, political, and religious variables [7,21], several studies have sought to identify further determinants of COVID-19 vaccine willingness [7,10,11,15,22]. Despite the well-established fact that scarcity and prohibition (which both lead to psychological reactance) influence individuals' behavioural intentions and decisions [23][24][25][26][27][28], no study has yet to explore their effect on individuals' intentions to accept, hesitate about, or refuse COVID-19 vaccination. This study suggests that these two factors, which both lead to psychological reactance, are among the factors that influence individuals' vaccination-related behaviours and decisions. ...
... Thus, both conditions in Iran (the prohibition of British and American vaccines and the very low speed of vaccination) lead to reactance behaviour. Psychological reactance is often considered to be one of the most prominent constructs in human behaviour and a strong determinant of decision-making [23,[25][26][27][28]49]. We aim to investigate the influence of state financial assistance during pandemic lockdowns. ...
Despite the public acceptance of COVID-19 vaccines being necessary to achieve ample immunization rates and, in turn, put an end to the global pandemic, vaccine hesitancy and refusal are on the rise. To detect and address the concerns of those who are hesitant, it is critical to identify all potential factors behind vaccine decision-making in order to devise strategies to enhance vaccine acceptance and uptake.
... A study has directly supported the positive correlation between PPC and PRt (Laird & Frazer, 2019). Compared to behavioral control, thought control is more restrictive and elicits greater PRt (Ma et al., 2019). ...
... Individual links are noteworthy. First, PPC was positively related to PRt, consistent with the results of existing research (Laird & Frazer, 2019;Ma et al., 2019). One possible explanation is that PPC pressures adolescents into thinking and behaving in particular ways, frustrating their need for autonomy (Scharf & Goldner, 2018), which triggers unpleasant arousal (i.e., PRt) in response to this threat to freedom that motivates them to act to restore their autonomy (Steindl et al., 2015). ...
Considering the prevalence of cyberbullying, the current study explores the factors associated with its perpetration. Using self-determination theory, the association of parental psychological control (PPC) with cyberbullying perpetration was examined. To explore this influencing mechanism further, psychological reactance (PRt) and materialism were examined as two mediators in this relationship. Moreover, according to the diathesis–stress model and cognitive model of resilience, psychological resilience (PRl) was examined as a moderator in the direct and indirect link between PPC and cyberbullying perpetration. To test our expectations, 804 adolescents ( M = 13.12, SD = 1.16) participated in the current study using a cross-sectional design and multiple questionnaires, namely, the Chinese version of the Parental Control Questionnaire, Revised Cyber Bullying Inventory, Hong Psychological Reactance Scale, Material Values Scale for Children, and Resilience Scale for Chinese Adolescents. Correlation analysis indicated that PPC, PRt, materialism, and cyberbullying perpetration were significantly and positively correlated, and were significantly and negatively related to PRl. Moderated mediation analysis revealed that PRt and materialism played multiple mediating roles in the relationship between PPC and cyberbullying perpetration. Multiple mediation analysis indicated that PRl weakened the direct associations of PPC, PRt, and materialism with cyberbullying perpetration, further alleviating the indirect and direct associations of PPC with cyberbullying perpetration, supporting the moderated mediation model. Specifically, adolescents high in PPC were more likely to have stronger PRt and materialistic values, which further triggered cyberbullying perpetration. PRl can protect adolescents high in PPC from cyberbullying perpetration via weakening the direct and indirect associations of PPC with cyberbullying.
... A study has directly supported the positive correlation between PPC and PRt (Laird & Frazer, 2019). Compared to behavioral control, thought control is more restrictive and elicits greater PRt (Ma et al., 2019). ...
... Individual links are noteworthy. First, PPC was positively related to PRt, consistent with the results of existing research (Laird & Frazer, 2019;Ma et al., 2019). One possible explanation is that PPC pressures adolescents into thinking and behaving in particular ways, frustrating their need for autonomy (Scharf & Goldner, 2018), which triggers unpleasant arousal (i.e., PRt) in response to this threat to freedom that motivates them to act to restore their autonomy (Steindl et al., 2015). ...
The current study sought to examine whether parental phubbing was significantly related to adolescents' cyberbullying perpetration and if moral disengagement mediated this relationship. We further examined whether online disinhibition moderated the direct and indirect relationships between parental phubbing and adolescents' cyberbullying perpetration. The participants included 2,407 adolescents from seven middle schools in China who completed the questionnaires regarding their experience with parental phubbing, moral disengagement, cyberbullying perpetration, and online disinhibition. Results indicated that adolescents with a high level of parental phubbing were likely to cyberbully others. Moral disengagement significantly mediated the relationship between parental phubbing and adolescents' cyberbullying perpetration. Furthermore, online disinhibition moderated the indirect relationship between parental phubbing and adolescents' cyberbullying perpetration. Specifically, the paths from parental phubbing to moral disengagement and from moral disengagement to cyberbullying perpetration became strengthened when adolescents experienced high levels of online disinhibition.
... As some participants in the experimental condition noticed that the reflection tasks made them feel forced to only recognize the positive aspects of the world while ignore the negative sides, psychological reactance may further account for the results. According to previous research, experienced thought control can lead to negative feelings (e.g., Ma et al., 2019). ...
The Enticing world belief factor—encompassing beliefs that the world is interesting, beautiful, abundant, and worth exploring—has been hypothesized to promote subjective well-being and several character strengths (e.g., curiosity). The present pre-registered longitudinal-experimental study tests a 9-day intervention aiming to increase Enticing world belief in 247 high school and university students (aged 14–35). Results show that the intervention increased Enticing world belief from pre to post. However, these changes did not persist at a 2-week follow-up. Although we did not find the predicted positive total effects of the intervention on optimism, life satisfaction, well-being, curiosity or love of learning from pre to post, we did find positive indirect effects on all of these variables via changes in Enticing world belief. We discuss inferential limitations regarding the observed effects as well as possible reasons for the lack of positive total effects on well-being measures and character strengths.
... Psychological reactance theory posits that individuals often believe they have freedom over certain behaviors/choices and value this freedom. When this freedom is deprived or threatened, individuals undergo an aversive motivational state aimed at restoring the deprived or threatened freedom (Ma et al., 2019). Thus, the formation of an individual's psychological reactance state primarily encompasses three stages. ...
Nowadays, numerous enterprises are actively adopting electronic performance monitoring (EPM) systems with the goal of enhancing organizational performance by stimulating employee pro-active behavior. However, some companies have reported that the EPM system didn't achieve the expected results and even led to the opposite. To address this paradoxical phenomenon, we employed psychological reactance theory to investigate the impacts of employee differentiate perceptions of EPM (developmental EPM [DEPM] and preventive EPM [PEPM]) on individual psychological and behavior reactance. By conducting a three-wave survey questionnaire among 446 corporate employees, we find that DEPM facilitates proactive behavior, while PEPM inhibits such behaviors; Second, psychological reactance mediates the relationships among DEPM, PEPM, and proactive behavior; Third, individual trait mindfulness positively (negatively) moderates the impact of DEPM (PEPM) on psychological reactance. This research elucidates the effects of EPM on pro-active behavior, providing valuable information to support attempts to refine digitally driven monitoring models within organizations.
... We propose that perceived transparency of a business' privacy practices has a positive effect on customers' commitment to the business. In contrast, perceived control exerts a negative impact on commitment because it compels customers to reassert their autonomy and flee to regain more control (Ma, Tang, & Kay, 2019;Yap et al., 2021). These effects are mediated by customers' disclosure and falsification behaviours which are behavioural indicators of their privacy concerns. ...
... We propose that perceived transparency of a business' privacy practices has a positive effect on customers' commitment to the business. In contrast, perceived control exerts a negative impact on commitment because it compels customers to reassert their autonomy and flee to regain more control (Ma, Tang, & Kay, 2019;Yap et al., 2021). These effects are mediated by customers' disclosure and falsification behaviours which are behavioural indicators of their privacy concerns. ...
... We propose that perceived transparency of a business' privacy practices has a positive effect on customers' commitment to the business. In contrast, perceived control exerts a negative impact on commitment because it compels customers to reassert their autonomy and flee to regain more control (Ma, Tang, & Kay, 2019;Yap et al., 2021). These effects are mediated by customers' disclosure and falsification behaviours which are behavioural indicators of their privacy concerns. ...
... Moreover, negative cognition intervenes in the message-attitudinal outcome relationship (Miller et al., 2007), and the antecedent-consequent relationship between freedom threat and attitude (Dillard and Shen, 2005;Rains and Turner, 2007). That is, any message that aims to change someone's behavior is perceived as a threat to freedom, and people hold negative cognitions and exhibit unfavorable attitudes toward the control or restriction of their freedom (Ma et al., 2019). Therefore, we hypothesize that the effect of normative appeals on attitude is serially mediated by freedom threat and negative cognition. ...
In this study, we employed an experimental design to empirically test how restaurant customers react differently to normative appeals (descriptive vs. injunctive) relating to COVID-19 prevention measures through freedom threat and negative cognition. We conducted t-tests, serial mediation, moderation, and moderated serial mediation analysis to test the hypotheses using SPSS 23.0 and PROCESS macro v.3.5 (model 6 and model 85). Injunctive normative appeal causes an increase in freedom and a less favorable attitude than descriptive normative appeals. The findings also demonstrate the serial-mediated effect of freedom threat and negative cognition on attitude. Furthermore, the effectiveness of normative appeals depends on an individual’s age. This study contributes to the academic literature on hospitality by applying psychological reactance theory and testing the model within a restaurant context. It also discusses the implications of its findings for consumers and restaurant managers.
Regulators of artificial intelligence (AI) emphasize the importance of human autonomy and oversight in AI-assisted decision-making (European Commission, Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology, 2021; 117th Congress, 2022). Predictions are the foundation of all AI tools; thus, if AI can predict our decisions , how might these predictions influence our ultimate choices? We examine how salient, personalized AI predictions affect decision outcomes and investigate the role of reactance, i.e., an adverse reaction to a perceived reduction in individual freedom. We trained an AI tool on previous dictator game decisions to generate personalized predictions of dictators' choices. In our AI treatment, dictators received this prediction before deciding. In a treatment involving human oversight, the decision of whether participants in our experiment were provided with the AI prediction was made by a previous participant (a 'human overseer'). In the baseline, participants did not receive the prediction. We find that participants sent less to the recipient when they received a personalized prediction but the strongest reduction occurred when the AI's prediction was intentionally not shared by the human overseer. Our findings underscore the importance of considering human reactions to AI predictions in assessing the accuracy and impact of these tools as well as the potential adverse effects of human oversight.
Short video games saw explosive growth and due to their rich content and strong communication features have provided a new marketing platform for corporate commercial activities. However, few studies have examined how to implement a gamification strategy on short-form video platforms. Based on Expectation Violation Theory, this study explored the impacts of three aspects of users' gamification interaction expectation violations on negative use behavior. By collecting and analyzing two waves of data with 320 matched samples, this study revealed that reward expectation violation, achievement expectation violation, and competition expectation violation of users' gamified interactions could predict negative use behaviors. Psychological resistance and emotional exhaustion mediated the effects of gamification expectation violations on users' negative use behaviors. Further, moral licensing negatively moderated the influence of gamification expectation violations on psychological resistance, but the moderation effect of moral licensing between gamification expectation violations and emotional exhaustion was not significant.
40 Type A and 40 Type B college students (Jenkins Activity Survey) were placed in a choice elimination reactance paradigm. In addition to the standard control and choice elimination conditions, Ss were induced to attribute having a choice among evaluated items either to themselves or to the situation prior to experiencing the elimination of choice. Reactance was measured by Ss' reevaluations of the eliminated choice alternative. Results indicate that when a behavioral freedom was blocked, without manipulating attributions, only Type A's experienced reactance. When Ss were induced to attribute having a choice to themselves, the magnitude of the reactance responses increased for both Types A and B. In contrast, when Types A and B were induced to attribute having choice to the situation, neither group reacted to the loss of choice. Results are integrated with previous findings on the coronary-prone behavior pattern. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved).
Research dealing with various aspects of* the theory of planned behavior (Ajzen, 1985,
1987) is reviewed, and some unresolved issues are discussed. In broad terms, the theory is
found to be well supported by empirical evidence. Intentions to perform behaviors of different
kinds can be predicted with high accuracy from attitudes toward the behavior, subjective
norms, and perceived behavioral control; and these intentions, together with perceptions of
behavioral control, account for considerable variance in actual behavior. Attitudes, subjective
norms, and perceived behavioral control are shown to be related to appropriate sets of salient
behavioral, normative, and control beliefs about the behavior, but the exact nature of these
relations is still uncertain. Expectancy value formulations are found to be only partly
successful in dealing with these relations. Optimal rescaling of expectancy and value
measures is offered as a means of dealing with measurement limitations. Finally, inclusion of
past behavior in the prediction equation is shown to provide a means of testing the theory*s
sufficiency, another issue that remains unresolved. The limited available evidence concerning
this question shows that the theory is predicting behavior quite well in comparison to the
ceiling imposed by behavioral reliability.
The primary objective of this investigation was to validate the recent operationalization of state reactance as a latent construct comprised of both affective and cognitive components. In addition to testing the operationalization of reactance, the authors tested the conceptual coherence of this construct by examining its association with threat-to-choice perceptions and ad persuasiveness of condom ads. Across seven condom television ads, the authors found evidence in support of treating reactance as a latent variable comprised of negative cognitions and state anger. An invariance test demonstrated that both of these variables loaded on reactance equivalently across all seven ads. In addition, results indicate that threat-to-choice perceptions are positively associated with reactance, thus providing conceptual consistency of this operationalization with Brehm's explication of reactance. Furthermore, the authors found evidence suggesting a negative association between ad persuasiveness with reactance and threat-to-choice perceptions.
Reactance theory might be profitably applied to understanding failures in persuasive health communication but for one drawback: The developer of the theory contends that reactance cannot be measured. Rejecting this position, this paper develops four alternative conceptual perspectives on the nature of reactance (i.e., combinations of cognition and affect), then provides an empirical test of each. Two parallel studies were conducted, one advocating flossing the other urging students to limit their alcohol intake In both cases, a composite index of anger and negative cognitions fully mediated the effects of threat-to-freedom and trait reactance on attitude and intention. The data showed that, in fact, reactance can be operationalized as a composite of self-report indices of anger and negative cognitions. The implications for persuasive communication, in general, are considered as well the specific findings for flossing and drinking.
Hypothesized that when a new alternative is introduced, old alternatives will tend to become more attractive to the extent that (a) the individual had previously felt free to choose the old alternatives, (b) the old alternatives were already attractive, and (c) the new alternative was more attractive than the old. The amount of freedom that 51 female undergraduates felt to select any of a set of alternatives was manipulated, and then a moderately or very attractive new alternative was introduced. Although the manipulation of the attractiveness of the new alternative failed, changes in attraction of the old alternatives supported the idea that when an attractive, new alternative is introduced, the increase in attractiveness of old alternatives in a condition of high freedom is greater than that in a condition of low freedom in proportion to the initial attractiveness of the old alternative. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Tested the impression management interpretation of psychological reactance. Contrary to the traditional effectance motivation interpretation, the impression management interpretation asserts that people are less concerned with the actual loss of a specific behavioral freedom than they are with maintaining the outward appearance of being free. 122 undergraduates read a communication that threatened their freedom to hold a particular attitude. Prior to the threat, some Ss were able either publicly or privately to exercise their freedom. Other Ss were not given the opportunity to exercise their freedom prior to its being threatened. Ss expressed their postcommunication attitude in a public or private manner. Consistent with the impression management hypothesis, attitude change did not occur when postcommunication attitudes were private. Further, public postcommunication attitudes were primarily used to convey the impression that the participant was autonomous; reactancelike attitude change occurred only when participants had not publicly exercised their freedom before it was threatened. (14 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Notes that a demand, explicit or implicit, to help someone, and even a felt obligation to do this, is often resented because the demand or obligation is a bothersome threat to the individual's freedom of action. Evidence is cited in accord with J. Brehm's (see PA, Vol. 41:8061) reactance theory indicating that increased pressure to aid a person in need at times reduces the individual's willingness to help the person who is dependent upon him. Experiments demonstrate that this "reactance effect" is lessened when the individual is in a good mood and increased when he is self-concerned and when the help request seems improper or unwarranted. It is proposed that people might be induced to act helpfully, in spite of the threat to their independence, by procedures that establish helpfulness as socially desirable conduct and provide practice in behaving helpfully. (29 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
In 2 studies, the Inclusion of Other in the Self (IOS) Scale, a single-item, pictorial measure of closeness, demonstrated alternate-form and test–retest reliability; convergent validity with the Relationship Closeness Inventory (E. Berscheid et al, 1989), the R. J. Sternberg (1988) Intimacy Scale, and other measures; discriminant validity; minimal social desirability correlations; and predictive validity for whether romantic relationships were intact 3 mo later. Also identified and cross-validated were (1) a 2-factor closeness model (Feeling Close and Behaving Close) and (2) longevity–closeness correlations that were small for women vs moderately positive for men. Five supplementary studies showed convergent and construct validity with marital satisfaction and commitment and with a reaction-time (RT)-based cognitive measure of closeness in married couples; and with intimacy and attraction measures in stranger dyads following laboratory closeness-generating tasks. In 3 final studies most Ss interpreted IOS Scale diagrams as depicting interconnectedness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Examines research on the relation between attitude and behavior in light of the correspondence between attitudinal and behavioral entities. Such entities are defined by their target, action, context, and time elements. A review of available empirical research supports the contention that strong attitude–behavior relations are obtained only under high correspondence between at least the target and action elements of the attitudinal and behavioral entities. This conclusion is compared with the rather pessimistic assessment of the utility of the attitude concept found in much contemporary social psychological literature. (4½ p ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
There are at least 2 general paths to a feeling of control. In primary control, individuals enhance their rewards by influencing existing realities (e.g., other people, circumstances, symptoms, or behavior problems). In secondary control, individuals enhance their rewards by accommodating to existing realities and maximizing satisfaction or goodness of fit with things as they are. It is argued that American psychologists' exclusive focus on primary control reflects a cultural context in which primary control is heavily emphasized and highly valued. In Japan, by contrast, primary control has traditionally been less highly valued and less often anticipated, and secondary control has assumed a more central role in everyday life. Japanese and American perspectives and practices are contrasted in childrearing, socialization, religion and philosophy, work, and psychotherapy. These comparisons reveal some key benefits, and some costs, of both primary and secondary approaches to control. The comparisons suggest that an important goal, both for individuals and for cultures, is an optimally adaptive blend of primary and secondary control. (116 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
This article compiles results from a century of social psychological research, more than 25,000 studies of 8 million people. A large number of social psychological conclusions are listed alongside meta-analytic information about the magnitude and variability of the corresponding effects. References to 322 meta-analyses of social psychological phenomena are presented, as well as statistical effect-size summaries. Analyses reveal that social psychological effects typically yield a value of r equal to .21 and that, in the typical research literature, effects vary from study to study in ways that produce a standard deviation in r of .15. Uses, limitations, and implications of this large-scale compilation are noted. In 1898 Norman Triplett published an early experiment in social psychology, about an ef-fect of the presence of others on task perfor-mance. In the 100 years since Triplett's inves-tigation, many social psychological effects have been documented. The current article summa-rizes the best established of these findings, with data from more than 25,000 research studies and 8 million people. Our goal is to quantify the magnitude and variability of social psychologi-cal effects. We begin by considering previous summaries of social psychology, note some un-resolved issues, and review developments that permit a century of scholarly work to be quan-titatively described. For present purposes, we follow Manstead and Hewstone (1995) in re-garding social psychology as the study of "the reciprocal influence of the individual and his or her social context" (p. 588).
Böckenholt and van der Heijden’s results regarding compliance with insurance regulations—that the enforcement activities of
a regulatory agency were relatively unpredictive of compliance—are consistent with findings from other domains (e.g., tax
adherence), where personal factors and informal social controls have been shown to play a more significant role. However,
the specific form of informal social control investigated in Böckenholt and van der Heijden’s study (the perceived approval/disapproval
of friends and family) is not the only kind of informal social control that has proven effective in spurring compliance. Descriptive
social norms, which involve perceptions not of what others approve but of what others actually do, also influence compliance
decisions powerfully. Yet, the role of descriptive social norms in rule adherence is often underappreciated by governed and
governors alike. The consequences of this relative lack of recognition are discussed within the arena of compliance with pro-environmental
regulations and requests.
Laboratory analog studies investigated the theory that narcissism and reactance contribute to causing rape. In Study 1, narcissism correlated positively with rape-supportive beliefs and negatively with empathy for rape victims. In Study 2, narcissists reported more enjoyment than other men of film depictions that presented consensual, affectionate activity followed by rape (but not in response to either affection or rape alone). In Study 3, narcissists were more punitive than other men toward a female confederate who refused to read a sexually arousing passage aloud to them.
An in-school youth survey for a major state anti-tobacco media campaign was conducted with 1,831 students (Grades 6-12) from 70 randomly selected classrooms throughout the state. Tobacco users accounted for nearly 25% of the sample. Pretest questionnaires assessed demographic variables, tobacco use, and various other risk factors. Several predictors of adolescents' susceptibility to tobacco use, including prior experimentation with tobacco, school performance, parental smoking status, parents' level of education, parental communication, parental relationship satisfaction, best friend's smoking status, prevalence of smokers in social environment, self-perceived potential to smoke related to peer pressure, and psychological reactance, were examined using discriminant analysis and logistic regression to identify the factors most useful in classifying adolescents as either high-risk or low-risk for smoking uptake. Results corroborate findings in the prevention literature indicating that age, prior experimentation, and having friends who smoke are among the principal predictors of smoking risk. New evidence is presented indicating that psychological reactance also should be considered as an important predictor of adolescent smoking initiation. The utility of producing antismoking messages informed by an awareness of the key risk factors-particularly psychological reactance-is discussed both in terms of the targeting and design of anti-tobacco campaigns.
This study explores the use of psychological reactance theory to explain consumer response to the elimination of phosphate laundry detergents. Consumers tended to express attitudes consistent with psychological reactance theory predictions.
Recent attempts to improve on the quality of psychological research focus on good practices required for statistical significance testing. The scrutiny of theoretical reasoning, though superordinate, is largely neglected, as exemplified here in a common misunderstanding of mediation analysis. Although a test of a mediation model X ➔ Z ➔ Y is conditional on the premise that the model applies, alternative mediators Z′, Z″, Z‴ etc. remain untested, and other causal models could underlie the correlation between X, Y, Z, researchers infer from a single significant mediation test that they have identified the true mediator. A literature search of all mediation analyses published in 2015 in Sciencedirect shows that the vast majority of studies neither consider alternative causal models nor alternative mediator candidates. Ignoring that mediation analysis is conditional on the truth of the focal mediation model, they pretend to have demonstrated that Z mediates the influence of X on Y. Recommendations are provided for how to overcome this dissatisfying state of affairs.
The public’s attitudes toward new governmental laws and regulations are frequently at the forefront of public policy debates. Will the public react negatively to a newly implemented public safety regulation or embrace the change? Does the public’s initial favorability toward a proposed environmental policy indicate public opinion and compliance if such a law passed? Social psychological research directly explores these questions and provides insight into how specific policy designs and implementations can shape public response to new regulations. People may exhibit one of two contrasting responses to policies: reactance or rationalization. When a rule is imposed, individuals often display reactance—exaggerating the value of the behavior being banned or restricted. However, individuals also frequently show an opposite, perhaps less conspicuous, tendency—They rationalize government policy; that is, they diminish alternatives and actively justify why the imposed regulations are favorable. In experiments, two factors—individuals’ attentional focus and a policy’s apparent absoluteness—determine whether people react against or rationalize policies that seek to restrict their behavior. In other evidence, people’s motivation to defend the status quo may hinder—but also facilitate—support for public policy changes. The implications can guide public policy design and implementation.
Psychological reactance ( Brehm, 1966 ; Brehm & Brehm, 1981 ) has been a long‐standing topic of interest among scholars studying the design and effects of persuasive messages and campaigns. Yet, until recently, reactance was considered to be a motivational state that could not be measured. Dillard and Shen (2005) argued that reactance can be conceptualized as cognition and affect and made amenable to direct measurement. This article revisits Dillard and Shen's (2005) questions about the nature of psychological reactance and reports a test designed to identify the best fitting model of reactance. A meta‐analytic review of reactance research was conducted (K = 20, N = 4,942) and the results were used to test path models representing competing conceptualizations of reactance. The results offer evidence that the intertwined model—in which reactance is modeled as a latent factor with anger and counterarguments serving as indicators—best fit the data.
G*Power (Erdfelder, Faul, & Buchner, 1996) was designed as a general stand-alone power analysis program for statistical tests commonly used in social and behavioral research. G*Power 3 is a major extension of, and improvement over, the previous versions. It runs on widely used computer platforms (i.e., Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Mac OS X 10.4) and covers many different statistical tests of the t, F, and chi2 test families. In addition, it includes power analyses for z tests and some exact tests. G*Power 3 provides improved effect size calculators and graphic options, supports both distribution-based and design-based input modes, and offers all types of power analyses in which users might be interested. Like its predecessors, G*Power 3 is free.
Here we propose a dual process model to reconcile two contradictory predictions about how people respond to restrictive policies imposed upon them by organizations and systems within which they operate. When participants’ attention was not drawn to the restrictive nature of the policy, or when it was, but their cognitive resources were restricted, we found evidence supporting a prediction based on System Justification Theory: Participants reacted favorably to restrictive policies, endorsing them and downplaying the importance of the restricted freedom. Only when we cued participants to focus their undivided attention on the restrictive nature of the policy did we find evidence supporting a prediction based on psychological reactance: Only then did participants display reactance and respond negatively to the policies.
In the present study, psychological reactance was viewed and treated both as a motivational state and as a personality trait which could be aroused through characteristics of the situation and of the individual. Reactance was measured by the Therapeutic Reactance Scale, One hundred an four male veteran smokers were exposed to either high or low amounts of physician advice to quit smoking. The advice was delivered in either a positive or negative tone. The study used a 2×2×2 (Reactance × Amount × Tone) factorial design with reported cigarette consumption among several dependent measures. The results indicated a significant interaction between the patient's level of reactance and the reactance arousing properties of the situation; namely, tone of physician advice. Scores on the Therapeutic Reactance Scale revealed that, for patients high in behavioral reactance, a low amont of negatively toned advice was most effective in facilitating a redcuction in smoking. Conversely, for subjects low in behavioral reactance, a high amount of either negatively or positively toned advice was most effective in promoting a reduction in smoking.
The "Greatest Business Book of All Time" (Bloomsbury UK), In Search of Excellence has long been a must-have for the boardroom, business school, and bedside table. Based on a study of forty-three of America's best-run companies from a diverse array of business sectors, In Search of Excellence describes eight basic principles of management -- action-stimulating, people-oriented, profit-maximizing practices -- that made these organizations successful. Joining the HarperBusiness Essentials series, this phenomenal bestseller features a new Authors' Note, and reintroduces these vital principles in an accessible and practical way for today's management reader.
Describes an experiment with 153 undergraduates in which a confederate manipulated the intent to influence by stating either that he wanted to influence others (high intent) or that he was unconcerned (low intent) about the target issue. Threat to attitudinal freedom was manipulated by a note from the confederate that either arbitrarily assigned S a position (high threat) or solicited the S's preference (low threat) on the issue. Results from control conditions indicate that both intent alone and threat alone led to boomerang attitude change, consistent with reactance theory. An Intent * Threat interaction effect, however, suggests that boomerang change obtains only if the inference about the motivation of the confederate and the behavior of the confederate are correspondent and imply limitation of attitudinal freedom. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Publisher Summary The chapter discusses the identification, consequences, and processes of self-monitoring. Empirical research on self-monitoring processes began with the construction and validation of the Self-Monitoring Scale, an instrument designed to translate the self-monitoring construct in an instrument that reliably and validly identifies it. Self-monitoring is the proposition that individuals can and should exercise control over their expressive behavior, self-presentation, and nonverbal displays of affect. Self-monitoring processes meaningfully channel and influence worldviews, behavior in social situations, and the unfolding dynamics of interactions with other individuals. It is the intent of this chapter to trace the origins and development of the social psychological construct of self-monitoring, to chart the behavioral and interpersonal consequences of self-monitoring, and to probe the cognitive and psychological processes of self-monitoring. The chapter provides some guidelines for conceptualizing and investigating the interplay of individuals and their situations.
In this article we suggest that independent vs. interdependent aspects of the self yield different manifestations of psychological reactance and that this is especially relevant in a cross-cultural context. In Studies 1, 2, and 4 we showed that people from collectivistic cultural backgrounds (individuals holding more interdependent attitudes and values) were less sensitive to a threat to their individual freedom than people from individualistic cultural backgrounds (individuals holding more independent attitudes and values), but more sensitive if their collective freedom was threatened. In Study 3 we activated independent vs. interdependent attitudes and values utilizing a cognitive priming method and yielded similar results as the other studies hinting at the important causal role of self-related aspects in understanding reactance in a cross-cultural context.
The writer is indebted to the following colleagues for helpful suggestions and comments on an earlier version of this paper: Roger Barker, L. B. Kornreich, Eugene Levitt, and Lawrence Linn. Thanks are also due to Anthony Fazio and James Green who supplied unpublished studies for review, and to Dean Bolton and Douglas Simpson for library work. Locating relevant references was facilitated by Deutscher's bibliography (1966a). This research was supported by a grant from the Graduate School of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and National Institute of Mental Health Grant 1 R03 MH-15798-01. Portions of this paper were presented at the Western Psychological Association Convention, Vancouver, B.C., June 20, 1969.
The longer something is thought to exist, the better it is evaluated. In Study 1, participants preferred an existing university requirement over an alternative; this pattern was more pronounced when the existing requirement was said to be in place for a longer period of time. In Study 2, participants rated acupuncture more favorably as a function of how old the practice was described. Aesthetic judgments of art (Study 3) and nature (Study 4) were also positively affected by time in existence, as were gustatory evaluations of an edible consumer good (Study 5). Features of the research designs argue against mere exposure, loss aversion, and rational inference as explanations for these findings. Instead, time in existence seems to operate as a heuristic; longer means better.
An experiment was performed with 141 male college students to test the effects of two variables on the generation of negative attitude change. About one half of the subjects were led to believe that they were competent to deal with a certain issue; the others were led to believe that they were relatively incompetent. The competence variable was cross-cut by a two-level manipulation of threat to attitudinal freedom. Among competent subjects the high threat communication produced a significant negative change, whereas the low threat communication produced a negligible positive change. For relatively incompetent subjects there was an average positive change, and the threat variable had no significant effect.
Recommendations often play a positive role in the decision process by reducing the difficulty associated with choosing between options. However, in certain circumstances recommendations play a less positive and more undesirable role from the perspectives of both the recommending agent or agency and the person receiving the recommendation. Across a series of four studies, we explore consumer response when recommendations by experts and intelligent agents contradict the consumer's initial impressions of choice options. We find that unsolicited advice that contradicts initial impressions leads to the activation of a reactant state on the part of the decision maker. This reactance, in turn, leads to a behavioral backlash that results not only in consumers ignoring the agents' recommendations but in intentionally contradicting them.
This study was designed to investigate the conditions under which the negative consequences of social influence attempts can be mitigated by freedom-affirming interventions. Eighty-eight high school girls received an influence message, presumably written by a co-worker, containing either a threat or a promise. In addition, subjects were or were not given a choice option as to mode of compliance, if they chose to comply with the message. In half the cases, the Interpersonal condition, subjects received their choice/no choice option from their co-worker; in the other half of the cases, the Noninterpersonal condition, subjects were assigned the choice/no choice option by a random event unknown to the influencing agent. As anticipated, in the Interpersonal as compared to the Noninterpersonal condition, (a) threats produced greater compliance when a choice was offered than when it was not, and (b) promises and threats were more equivalent in gaining compliance when a choice was offered than when it was not. These results, which suggest that in a social setting individuals' concerns about freedom are interpersonally motivated, are discussed in terms of their relation to and implications for reactance theory.
A communication that contains a particularly strong intent to influence caneasily lose persuasive impact or even bring about a “boomerang” effect. Such “boomerang” phenomena have often been attributed to “psychological reactance”, a motivational state created when freedoms are threatened or usurped. The first experiment reported here examined two factors that inhibited reactance effects. (A) The more that subjects were in initial disagreement with the communicator, the less likely they were to respond with boomerang change to a high pressure communication. (B) Among subjects who initially agreed with the communicator, a successful blocking of reactance effects was produced by asking them to write a short precommunication essay taking a position contrary to the communication. This latter effect was replicated in Experiment II.
How do people respond to government policies and work environments that place restrictions on their personal freedoms? The psychological literature offers two contradictory answers to this question. Here, we attempt to resolve this apparent discrepancy. Specifically, we identify the absoluteness of a restriction as one factor that determines how people respond to it. Across two studies, participants responded to absolute restrictions (i.e., restrictions that were sure to come into effect) with rationalization: They viewed the restrictions more favorably, and valued the restricted freedoms less, compared with control participants. Participants responded in the opposite way to identical restrictions that were described as nonabsolute (i.e., as having a small chance of not coming into effect): In this case, participants displayed reactance, viewing the restrictions less favorably, and valuing the restricted freedoms more, compared with control participants. We end by discussing future research directions.
While conventional farming systems face serious problems of sustainability, organic agriculture is seen as a more environmentally friendly system as it favours renewable resources, recycles nutrients, uses the environment’s own systems for controlling pests and diseases, sustains ecosystems, protects soils, and reduces pollution. At the same time organic farming promotes animal welfare, the use of natural foodstuffs, product diversity and the avoidance of waste, among other practices. However, the future of organic agriculture will depend on its economic viability and on the determination shown by governments to protect these practices. This paper performs panel regressions with a sample of Catalan farms (Spain) to test the influence of organic farming on farm output, costs and incomes. It analyses the cost structures of both types of farming and comments on their social and environmental performance.
The purpose was to show that when a favor reduces a person's freedom, it arouses "psychological reactance," a motivational state aimed at restoration of this freedom. Ss, run individually, learned they were to make 1st-impression ratings of another S (confederate) and then were given a soft drink by this S, prior to making the ratings. In a 2 X 2 design, the 1st-impression ratings were given low or high importance; ½ of each importance group received the favor, ½ did not. An opportunity was presented for S to do a favor for the confederate after the ratings. In the low-importance condition, the favor increased the likelihood that S would perform a favor in turn for the confederate, and in high importance, the favor reduced the likelihood that S would perform the return favor.
To examine whether adolescents' exposure to youth smoking prevention ads sponsored by tobacco companies promotes intentions to smoke, curiosity about smoking, and positive attitudes toward the tobacco industry.
A randomised controlled experiment compared adolescents' responses to five smoking prevention ads sponsored by a tobacco company (Philip Morris or Lorillard), or to five smoking prevention ads sponsored by a non-profit organisation (the American Legacy Foundation), or to five ads about preventing drunk driving.
A large public high school in California's central valley.
A convenience sample of 9th and 10th graders (n = 832) ages 14-17 years.
Perceptions of ad effectiveness, intention to smoke, and attitudes toward tobacco companies measured immediately after exposure.
As predicted, adolescents rated Philip Morris and Lorillard ads less favourably than the other youth smoking prevention ads. Adolescents' intention to smoke did not differ as a function of ad exposure. However, exposure to Philip Morris and Lorillard ads engendered more favourable attitudes toward tobacco companies.
This study demonstrates that industry sponsored anti-smoking ads do more to promote corporate image than to prevent youth smoking. By cultivating public opinion that is more sympathetic toward tobacco companies, the effect of such advertising is likely to be more harmful than helpful to youth.
Psychological reactance: A theory of freedom and control
- S S Brehm
- J W Brehm
Brehm, S. S., & Brehm, J. W. (1981). Psychological reactance: A theory of freedom and
control. New York: Academic Press.
Is there anything wrong with sinful thought?
- Y Cotlar
Cotlar, Y. (2019). Is there anything wrong with sinful thought? Retrieved from: https://
www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/1754248/jewish/Is-There-Anything-Wrong-with-Sinful-Thought.htm.
Man's search for meaning
- V E Frankl
Frankl, V. E. (1985). Man's search for meaning. New York: Washington Square Press.