Reactance Theory

     I’m sure we can all come up with a time when Mom, Dad, Grandma, or teacher told you not to do something and of course all we want to do is that forbidden behavior. It seems like human nature if someone tells us no, that we feel controlled and want to rebel. This is formally known as the reactance theory which states that the more you restrain a person from their freedoms, the more they are going to want to do that activity to lessen the feeling of being threatened. This can be a crucial theory for parents to be aware of. When dealing with their kids parents should know that the more they emphasize not to do something, the more their child will want to do it.

      Millions of examples pop into my head when referring to the reactance theory but the one that sticks out is telling my younger brother NOT to touch my project.  A little background information to this story is that I got assigned a project in high school for my final project weeks in advance to make sure the project was well done. I had planned out my project since the very beginning and had a vision in my head. It was going to take a lot of work, but it was worth it. I slowly started gathering my materials, researching my facts and laying out the groundwork for the project. The whole house knew what I was working on and how big of a deal it was to me at the time. I set up my work station in my room knowing that if I left it in the living room it would get trampled on by my dog. After hours of working on this project is was coming together and was turning out pretty good. I told my younger brother to stay away from my project and if anything at all happened to it he was going to pay. He laughed and I should have paid more attention to that devilish look in his eyes. It was the next day when I got home from school that I walk into my nightmare. My project was missing half its roof! Who could do such a thing?! It took me only a few short moments to know who could have done it, my younger brother. He just had to do something to my project because he knew he was not allowed anywhere near it, and that feeling of restrain was eating at him. By ripping off half the roof it lessened the tension he was feeling but it created more than just tension in me. If I had been aware of this reactance theory at the time I would have used psychology to my advantage and not said a word about my project, but unfortunately I was half a roof too late. 

Misattribution of Arousal

     Most of us would like to think that we know ourselves better than anyone else does. I mean we are the ones that are thinking what we are thinking, and feeling what we are feeling, right? The more I learn about social psychology the more my opinion of what I thought I knew is changing. The Misattribution of Arousal is such a fascinating idea and is hard to disagree with. The definition of this phenomenon is when people make incorrect implications to what is making them feel the way they are. It can be difficult to correctly place why our bodies are feeling the way they are, and often times this difficulty can rear its ugly head.

      A personal example of when I misattributed my arousal dates back to when I was a young girl about the age of twelve. I went to the carnival with a bunch of my friends and my brother was there with his friends as well. As the night got later, and the sky grew darker things started to get a bit more fun. I got on my first ride of the night, and it was a wild one. Just looking at the ride in motion made my palms sweat, but nevertheless me and the others were excited. All the friends were in line giving the worker our ticket and two by two we got strapped in. I got paired up with Ray, a neighborhood friend of many years. My heart rate was going wild with anticipation and I could feel the perspiration on my hands and brows. The ride started and off we went spinning and flying so rapidly I felt as if I was going to fall out of my seat. And then there was Ray sitting next to me taking the intensity of the ride so well, I could just feel myself looking at him with big eyes. I remember getting off the ride and wanting to stand a little closer to Ray, maybe have him want to stand close to me too. Going home that night it was hard not to replay the overwhelming emotions of the night and the rides we went on. Ray was what I thought of as I brushed my teeth and hit the hay. Waking up the next morning I was pleasantly surprised that Ray was at the door ready to play in the neighborhood. We started playing kick ball like we normally would with the neighbors, and this time Ray picked me to be on his team! Standing next to each other in line he was up to bat and I was in the hole. There were a lot of us kids playing that day and the heat was on. I watched Ray kick the ball so far and run, yes a homerun! He can running down the street passing third base and tapping home plate. I was next, my heart going wild ready to kick that ball to Mars. My kick wasn’t nearly as good as Ray’s but still it worked, second base I go. Later that afternoon Ray asked me to be his girlfriend. I thought I was the luckiest girl in the world. Ray must have felt the connection I was! Several days passed by and my hyped up feelings for Ray suddenly were no longer and I had to break the news to him that we would no longer be a couple. He looked crushed but I couldn’t help thinking what was it I saw in him?

     Looking back at this memory and being able to recall is so vividly is amazing to me. It is even more amazing to me that my question is now answered. I simply thought that it was Ray making me feel so excited and pumped up when in reality it was the situation we were in. Now for future reference I can be more aware of what is going on around me that could potentially play a role in how I am feeling.