Louisiana Tech University Louisiana Tech Digital Commons Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School Summer 2003 Personality style and psychological reactance: Theory confirmation and empirical prediction of reactant personalities Eric Alexander Seemann Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.latech.edu/dissertations PERSONALITY STYLE AND PSYCHOLOGICAL REACTANCE: THEORY CONFIRMATION AND EMPIRICAL PREDICTION OF REACTANT PERSONALITIES by Eric A. Seemann, M.S. A Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy COLLEGE OF EDUCATION LOUISIANA TECH UNIVERSITY Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UMI Number: 3093850 UMI UMI Microform 3093850 Copyright 2003 by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest Information and Learning Company 300 North Zeeb Road P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. LOUISIANA TECH UNIVERSITY THE GRADUATE SCHOOL ___________ 17 June 2003_______ Date We hereby recommend that the dissertation prepared under our supervision by _______ Eric A. Seemann ___________________________________________________ entitled Psychological Reactance: Theory confirmation and empirical __________ prediction of reactant personalities.__________________________ be accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy(Ph.D.) SupervisoySf Dissaftation-Kesean Head o f Department / Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Department Recoij|mendation concurred in: JrfKtJChM/ Advisory Committee Approved: Approve Director o f Graduate Studies Dean o f the Graduate School :an o f the College GS Form 13 ( 1/00) Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Abstract Psychological reactance (reactance) is a construct that has begun to attract attention in the past few decades. Reactance is the tendency of a person to react in some way to protect personal freedoms from real or perceived threats (Brehm, 1966; Brehm & Brehm, 1981). Current theorizing and research suggest that reactance is a characteristic related to an interaction between the situation and transient variables such as perceptions of self or available alternatives (Brehm, 1976; Cherulnik & Citrin,1974; Hannah, Hannah, & Wattie, 1976). Current research and theory indicates that psychological reactance is likely characterological in nature and is more of a characteristic of the person than of the situation (Brehm & Brehm, 1981; Buboltz, Woller, & Pepper, 1999; Dowd & Wallbrown, 1993; Dowd, Wallbrown, Sanders, & Yesenosky, 1994; Seemann, Buboltz, Thomas, Beatty, & Jenkins, 2001). This research has primarily involved trait- factor personality constructs, and only recently has personality style been investigated with respect to psychological reactance (Buboltz, Thomas, Williams, Seemann, Soper, & Woller, in press). The current study focused testing predictions from a theoretical model and from an empirical standpoint based on the existing body of knowledge regarding reactant behavior. A population of male, medium-security prison inmates was sampled. A modified version of the theoretical model of personality and psychological reactance proposed by Huck (1998) was tested with six formal hypotheses, and two hypotheses predicted specific MCMI-III personality scale elevations based on level of psychological reactance (high, moderate, or low). In addition, one hypothesis tested for differences in psychological reactance based on race, and another hypothesis tested the prediction that male prison inmates would demonstrate higher levels of psychological reactance than college students. Participants completed the Therapeutic Reactance Scale (TRS; Dowd, et al., 1991), the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-Ill (MCMI-III, ii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Millon, et al., 1997), and a demographic data sheet. A total of 438 participants were retained in the current study. Hypotheses 1 and 2 were not supported, indicating that there is no significant difference in obtained TRS total scores between African-American and Caucasian inmates in the current sample, and that there is no significant difference in levels of psychological reactance between inmates in the current sample and an archive sample of college students. A stepwise multiple regression was conducted to test the theoretical predictions of hypotheses 3 through 8. R2= .311 with an adjusted R2 of .306; F (3, 434) = 65.233 ,p < .001. Of the 14 MCMI-III scales entered into the regression, the aggressive ([sadistic], hereafter, aggressive) (/?= .290, p < .001), paranoid (j3=.277,p < .001), and borderline (J3= A 06, p < .039) scales emerged as significant predictors, partially supporting hypothesis 5 and fully supporting hypotheses 7 and 8. Hypotheses 3 and 4 were not supported. A MANOVA was conducted to test hypotheses 9 and 10 with level of reactance as the independent variable. A priori comparisons found strong support for hypothesis 9; the passive-aggressive, aggressive, and antisocial personality styles demonstrated a positive relationship with psychological reactance, and the mean MCMI-III scores for these constructs are significantly different given the level of psychological reactance. Hypothesis 10 predicted a negative relationship between the dependent, avoidant, and schizoid personality styles; this hypothesis not only failed to find support, but the opposite results were obtained. iii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. APPROVAL FOR SCHOLARLY DISSEMINATION The author grants to the Prescott Memorial Library of Louisiana Tech University the right to reproduce, by appropriate methods, upon request, any and all portions of this Dissertation. It is understood that “proper request” consists of the agreement, on the part of the requesting party, that said reproduction is for his or her personal use and that subsequent reproduction will not occur without written approval of the author of this Dissertation. Further, any portion of the dissertation used in books, papers, and other works must be appropriately referenced to this Dissertation. Finally, the Author of this Dissertation reserves the right to publish freely, in the literature, at any time, any or all portions of this Dissertation. Author: Date: IV Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT........................................................................................................................................ ii LIST OF TABLES .............................................................................................................................. ix ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .................................................................................................................. x CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................... 1 Statement of the Problem.........................................................................................................3 Justification for the Study........................................................................................................7 Review of the Literature ..........................................................................................................9 Foundations of Psychological Reactance................................................................. 10 Psychological Reactance and Control.......................................................................14 Reactance, Resistance, and Control in Therapy.......................................................19 Psychological Reactance as a Trait Variable ...........................................................24 The Measurement of Psychological Reactance........................................................30 Psychological Reactance: Race and Gender ............................................................30 A Theoretical Framework......................................................................................... 33 Personality Style and Psychological Reactance.......................................................36 Millon’s Theory of Personality and Personality Style............................................ 39 Millon’s Typology of Personality............................................................................ 46 Millon’s Personality Styles....................................................................................... 48 Hypotheses.............................................................................................................................. 54 Statement of Hypothesis 1........................................................................................ 54 Justification for Hypothesis 1................................................................................... 54 Statement of Hypothesis 2........................................................................................ 54 v Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Justification for Hypothesis 2..................................................................................