Effect of psychological reactance on acceptance of the threatened positions What are the ordinar y effects of at ti tude-consistent threat to freedom? Shuzo IM AJ0 ( o aido m ' υe st'tv of d catt'on, a odate) In this study it was h ypothesized that reactance would increase the tendency to accept the threatened posi tions (posi tions on the opposi te side and neutral posi tion), even when reactance arousal did not reduce posit ive opinion change. Subjects under the high threat condi tion read an

more »

... attitude-consistent and high-pressure message. A low threat message involved no expressions involving high-pressure. Subjects under the control condi tion read no message. The results revealed that there was no difference between the com pliance in the low and high threat conditions, and both were greater than the opinion change in the control condi tion. On the other hand, subjects under the high threat condition perceived the prohibited positions as more agreeable than subjects under the low threat condition. These results suppor t the h ypothesis, and it would fur ther suggest the effects of the reactance which is aroused by at ti tude-consistent threat. When the degree of prerequisi tes for reactance is low, hi gh-pressure suppor t w ill resul t in moderate com pliance, accom panied b y sub jecti ve responses to reactance (e.g., hostili t y) and an increased tendency to accept the threatened posi tions.