Reactance Theory

Key Process Components

Perceived freedom Perceived threat

Determinants of magnitude

At least three things- 1. Firmness with which freedom is established. 2. Importance of threatened freedom. 3. Magnitude of the threat. Sub-Determinants: 1. Proportion of freedoms threatened or eliminated. 2. Implications of the lost of one freedom for the possible loss of another freedom or set of freedoms.

What is reactance?

Motive activated when we perceive a threat to an established behavioral freedom. Motive oriented toward confirming or re-establishing the threatened freedom.

What the theory does NOT say

Theory does NOT assert simply that we want things we cannot have or that we are told we cannot have. Rather, it asserts that we want things we thought we had or could have, but now view as threatened or eliminated. Theory also specifies conditions under which this desire (wanting) should be present to a greater or lesser degree.

Desire vs. Action

Wanting to do something is not the same as doing it. We sometimes want, but refrain from acting. We refrain, presumably, under conditions where the cost of acting outweighs the benefit of acting. Reactance proposition is that tendency to act will be greater under high- as compared to low reactance conditions all else being equal.

Similarities to cognitive dissonance

1.Relates to decision making. Whereas dissonance is believed to be post-decisional, reactance is believed to be pre-decisional. 2.Has stood the test of time. Few have challenged core propositions. 3.Is motivational in that it posits the establishment of a particular motive under certain conditions. 4.Does not assume that people are necessarily aware of the motive once it has been activated. 5.Assumes that the reactance motive is fundamental, not acquired through learning.