Psychological Reactance

Book excerpt: Psychological Reactance: A Theory of Freedom and Control provides information pertinent to the fundamental aspects of reactance theory. This book discusses a number of special topic areas to which the reactance theory seems especially relevant. Organized into five parts encompassing 17 chapters, this book begins with an overview of the relationship between freedom and perceived freedom as conceived by reactance theory. This text then describes the clinical applications, societal problem solutions, and power relations in the real world. Other chapters consider the developmental aspects of reactance. This book discusses as well the reactance theory in a wider theoretical context by examining impression management formulations of the theory and by comparing reactance to other theoretical models whereby the notion of control plays a major role. The final chapter deals with the role of cognitive processes in association with reactance in attitude change phenomena. This book is a valuable resource for social psychologists.