Resistance to improper dependency relationships

Abstract

Two hundred and twenty-eight college men and women were individually assigned to supervise the work of two same-sex peers who were eligible for a cash prize although no prize was available for the subject. One of the workers asked for help, either because of the experimenter's mistake (external locus of dependency), or because of the person's own deficiency (internal locus of dependency), while other information indicated the worker was either highly dependent, moderately dependent, or only slightly dependent upon the subject's help in order to gain the prize. The person asking for assistance was more disliked than the worker not requesting help, even when the former's dependency was externally created, presumably because the help request restricted the subject's behavioral freedom. The greatest dislike for the worker seeking help arose, however, when it was this person's own fault he needed help. In accord with Brehm's reactance theory, there was the least effort for the worker asking for help when this person was highly dependent upon the subject but needed assistance because of his own shortcomings; the illegitimate help request evidently gave the subject a suitable excuse, permitting him to succumb to the resentment (or reactance) arising from the great implied demand upon him. Although the women generally gave the worker more help than did the men, both sexes displayed this resentment at the improper help request and both tended to dislike the worker seeking assistance.