Tested 3 hypotheses: (a) a threat to the freedom to make 1 of 2 choices arouses reactance and a consequent increase in desirability of the choice; (b) the increase in desirability will be reduced to the extent that the threatened freedom is directly restored by another person; and (c) the increase in desirability will be reduced to the extent that another person, under the same threat to freedom, is observed to act so as to restore his own freedom. In Exp. I with 90 male undergraduates, the S and 2 confederates acting as Ss were to make a group decision between 2 alternatives. When 1 of the confederates demanded the selection of a particular alternative, Ss tended to want the other alternative. When the 1st confederate's demand was followed by the 2nd saying that he had not yet made up his mind, Ss tended to prefer the alternative demanded by the 1st confederate. In Exp. II with 36 male undergraduates, each group member was to make his own choice between the 2 alternatives, rather than there being a group decision. When 1 confederate demanded that all in the group choose a particular alternative, Ss tended to choose the opposite alternative. When that confederate's demand was followed by the 2nd confederate saying that he had not yet made up his mind (about his own choice), Ss tended to prefer the task demanded by the 1st confederate. Results confirm the hypotheses. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)