Antecedents to Psychological Reactance: The Impact of Threat, Message Frame, and Choice

Abstract

A 2 (Threat: high vs. low) × 2 (Frame: gain vs. loss) × 2 (Choice: yes vs. no) × 2 (Behavior: prevention vs. detection) factorial design Web-based experiment (N = 814) was conducted to investigate the impact of threat to freedom, message frame, and behavioral choice as antecedents to psychological reactance. The intertwined model for reactance measure was replicated. Results showed that threat to freedom and the loss frame increased, and the gain frame and choice mitigated psychological reactance. The advantages of choice and the gain frame were most salient when threat was high.