Answer to Question #260223 in English for Hammad

Question

What experiences have you had with psychological reactance? How have you reacted when

faced with real or perceived limitation(s) on your freedom? Describe the limitations, and your

behaviour as a result.

Answer 1

Reactance is a response to a person's need to safeguard his or her own sense of personal liberty. This freedom can be restricted by a number of authoritative figures and their repercussions. There is a mental and a behavioral component to reactance. The mental component entails weighing one's options for every given decision, but the behavioral component is the visible element of the process. When Joe's mother instructed him to wear his dress shoes to church instead of his sneakers, I had an experience with psychological reactance. Because of his mother's desire that he not wear the sneakers, donning them suddenly appears like a far more appealing option. Joe maintains his freedom by refusing to follow his mother's advice and wearing shoes instead. First and foremost, the freedom to choose a conduct must exist. Reactance does not occur in people who do not have a certain level of freedom or who have no meaningful option in the situation, because their independence is not challenged.

If Joe's family was poor and couldn't afford more than one pair of shoes for him, there would be no problem; Joe wouldn't have a choice and would be far less inclined to react. Reactance is less common in very young children because they are unable to make many of the decisions that are involved in their daily activities. Joe's mother, who helped him dress when he was a toddler, would have made sure he wore correct apparel to church. Reactance, on the other hand, becomes increasingly common as children get older, as they defend their independence by refusing to follow the advice of their caregivers. Even if the ideas are sound and the acts are against their own self-interest, they can act in this way. Joe's mother, for example, warns him against using his red fire truck as a skateboard since it is dangerous. She also assures him that he might be able to shatter it that way. Joe continues to abuse the toy in this manner until it is broken. While the conduct is the visible element of reactance, it is dependent on how choices appear to the individual doing the behavior. Joe is suddenly more interested in using the toy truck as a skateboard. He now believes he is acting on his own behalf, something he would not be doing if he had heeded his mother's advice.