Personality characteristics of reactance in work relations
Abstract
The article gives a general description of the reactance, and the situational and personal characteristics of its manifestations in human behavior. In office relations, the most visible manifestation of the reactance is a failure to comply with the intended effect after the head asks for the same action. To study the characteristics of this behavior the research was conducted with the participation of 1078 people. Methods of diagnostics of personal qualities and author questionnaire «Styles of behavior in a situation of the authorities for work relations» were used. The study showed that in a situation where the request of chef corresponds to the personal decision of the executive, people generally choose the complete subordination. However, women are significantly more likely to experience negative emotions in this case, but more often choose the subordination. Men more likely to experience positive emotions, but often use dodging or imaginary submission. Independence, personal reactance and power-leading style are influencing the choice of different kinds of disobedience.
References
- Brehm S. S., Brehm J. W. Psychological reactance: a theory of freedom and control. New York, 1981.
- Dowd E. T., Wallbrow F. Motivational components of client reactance. J. Couns. Dev. 1993. Vol. 71. P. 533–538.
- Merz J. Fragebogen zur Messung der psychologischen Reaktanz. Diagnostica. 1983. No. 29. P. 75–82 (in Ger.).
- Dowd E. T., Milne C. R., Wise S. L. The Therapeutic Reactance Scale: a measure of psychological reactance. J. Couns. Dev. 1991. No. 69, issue 6. P. 541–545.
- Hong S. M., Page S. A psychological reactance scale: development, factor structure and reliability. Psychol. Rep. 1989. No. 64, issue 3. P. 1323–1326.
- Dowd E. T. Psychological reactance in health education and promotion. Health Educ. J. 2002. Vol. 61, issue 2. P. 113–124.
- Dowd E. T., Wallbrown F. Motivational components of client reactance. J. Couns. Dev. 1993. Vol. 71, issue 5. P. 533–538.
- Dowd E. T., Wallbrown F., Sanders D., et al. Psychological reactance and its relationship to normal personality variables. Cogn. Ther. Res. 1994. Vol. 18, issue 6. P. 601–612.
- Miller C. H., Lane L. T., Deatrick L. M., et al. Psychological reactance and promotional health messages: the effects of controlling language, lexical concreteness, and the restoration of freedom. Hum. Commun. Res. 2007. Vol. 33, issue 2. Р. 219–240.
- Weathers P. L. A test of psychological reactance theory in a correctional setting. Diss. Abstr. Int. 1995. Vol. 56. P. 1714–1735.
- Palmentera C. M. Psychological reactance, stress, and coping styles : unpubl. dr. diss. Kent, Ohio, 1996.
- Seibel C. A., Dowd E. T. Personality characteristics associated with psychological reactance. J. Clin. Psychol. 2001. Vol. 57, issue 7. P. 963–969.
- Johnson P., Buboltz W. C. Differentiation of self and psychological reactance. Contemp. Fam. Ther. 2000. Vol. 22, issue 1. P. 91–102.
- Dowd E. T., Pepper H. F., Seibel C. A. Developmental correlates of psychological reactance. J. Cogn. Psychother. 2001. Vol. 15, No. 3. P. 239–252.
- Rhodewalt F., Davison J. Reactance and the Type A coronary-prone behavior pattern: the role of self-attribution in responses to reduced behavioral freedom. J. Pers. Soc. Psychol. 1983. Vol. 44, No. 2. P. 220–228.
- Carver C. S. Perceived coercion, resistance to persuasion, and the Type A behavior pattern. J. Res. Pers. 1980. Vol. 14, No. 4. P. 467–481.
- Il’in Е. P. [Differential psychology of profession activity]. Saint Petersburg, 2008 (in Russ.).
- Vygotskii L. S. [Psychology of child development]. Мoscow, 2005 (in Russ.).
- Fourmanov I. А. [Psychological bases of diagnosis and correction of behavioral disorders in children and adolescents]. Minsk, 1997 (in Russ.).
- Fourmanov I. А. Affective-dynamic adaptation theory. Vesnik BDU. Ser. 3, Gistoryja. Filasofija. Psihalogija. Palitalogija. Sacyjalogija. Jekanomika. Prava. 2001. No. 3. P. 42–47 (in Russ.).
- Seemann E. A., Buboltz W. C., Jenkins S. M., et al. Ethnic and gender differences in psychological reactance: the importance of reactance in multicultural counseling. Couns. Psychol. Q. 2004. Vol. 17, issue 2. P. 167–176.
- Swart C., Ickes W., Morgenthaler E. S. The effect of objective self awarenesson compliance in a reactance situation. Soc. Behav. Pers. 1978. Vol. 6, issue 1. P. 135–139.
- Middleton J., Buboltz W., Sopon B. The relationship between psychological reactance and emotional intelligence. Soc. Sci. J. 2015. Vol. 52, issue 4. P. 542–549.
- Kulinkovich Т. О., Kosobutskaya A. Y. Reactance in Workplace Relationships. Filos. i sotsial’nye nauki. 2013. No. 3/4. P. 68–77 (in Russ.).
- Kulinkovich Т. О. Styles of Individual behavior in situations of power influence in work relationships. Filos. i sotsial’nye nauki. 2011. No. 3/4. P. 86–93 (in Russ.).
Copyright (c) 2019 Journal of the Belarusian State University. Philosophy and Psychology

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
The authors who are published in this journal agree to the following:
- The authors retain copyright on the work and provide the journal with the right of first publication of the work on condition of license Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial. 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0).
- The authors retain the right to enter into certain contractual agreements relating to the non-exclusive distribution of the published version of the work (e.g. post it on the institutional repository, publication in the book), with the reference to its original publication in this journal.
- The authors have the right to post their work on the Internet (e.g. on the institutional store or personal website) prior to and during the review process, conducted by the journal, as this may lead to a productive discussion and a large number of references to this work. (See The Effect of Open Access.)