Abstract
The present research investigated the effects of high threat on compliance, when the strength and importance of a freedom were low (low prerequisites for reactance arousal). This research varied attitudinal freedom and threats to it. Subjects read the prosecution summary for a court trial, and about half of the subjects were further informed of the defense's claim, which suggested that innocence was equally possible (high prerequisite condition). A low-, moderate- or high threat message, advocating that the defendant was guilty, contained respectively 0, 3, or 6 high-pressure statements. The predictions were as follows: (a) Under low prerequisite, moderate threat would decrease compliance, whereas high threat would increase it; (b) under high prerequisite, the greater the threat, the less the compliance. The significant prerequisite × threat interaction on the post-communication measures of opinion confirmed the predictions. The significance of these results, for the complex interplay between the strength and importance of a freedom and the magnitude of threat to it, is discussed.
