Change in attractiveness of forbidden toys as a function of severity of threat

Abstract

Boys were threatened with loss of a valuable (Severe threat) or less valuable (Mild threat) gift if they played with the second-ranked of five attractive toys. No boy was observed to play with the toy during the experimenter's absence. Rankings of the toys before and after the temptation period show that Mild subjects lower the forbidden toy's attractiveness (in line with the dissonance prediction) and Severe subjects raise its attractiveness (not predicted by dissonance). Latency and duration of play with the critical toy after removal of the prohibition support the interpretation that internalization of the prohibition was greater for subjects mildly threatened. An alternative to dissonance theory is proposed which can explain both the increase and the decrease of the forbidden toy's attractiveness.