No, you're not allowed : the effect of reactance on a crisis simulation task

• Main Author: Tan, Yong Ching
• Other Authors: Bobby K. Cheon
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: Nanyang Technological University 2021
• Subjects: Social sciences::Psychology
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/150348
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Effective persuasive messages lay the foundation for behavioural change, whether through implicit suggestion or explicit instructions, and are pertinent in situations where directing individuals to behave prosocially is critical, such as in times of crisis. However, persuasive messages run the risk of resistance, resulting in behaviours opposite of what was intended, a phenomenon known as psychological reactance. Psychological reactance occurs when individuals experience threats to their freedom, triggering motivational behaviours to restore their freedom. Reactance has been conceptualised as an intertwined model of negative affect (anger) and cognitions (counterarguments), and certain message styles such as controlling and vivid language have been found to elicit freedom threat. Till date, no studies have investigated the effects of psychological reactance on individuals’ prosocial behaviours when given a persuasive, prosocial message in a crisis context. This study investigated the effects of controlling language on the experience of psychological reactance in a computer-based simulation of a crisis, and how this experience subsequently affects helping behaviour. It was hypothesised that participants who were exposed to freedom threat via the controlling instruction would show behaviour that attempts to restore their freedom and perceive themselves to engage in more pro-self behaviour afterwards. However, no significant differences in helping behaviour were found between participants who read controlling, reactance-inducing priming instructions and those who read neutral instructions. Possible strategies and future directions for the reactance literature are also presented.