Grabbing the Forbidden Fruit: Restriction-Sensitive Choice
Theoretical Economics
2026-05-18 v2
Abstract
Restricting individuals' access to some opportunities may steer their desire toward their substitutes, a phenomenon known as the forbidden fruit effect. We axiomatize a choice model named restriction-sensitive choice (RSC), which rationalizes the forbidden fruit effect and is compatible with the prominent psychological explanations: reactance theory and commodity theory. The model is identifiable from choice data, specifically from the observation of choice reversals caused by the removal of options. We conduct a normative analysis both in terms of the agent's freedom and welfare. We apply our model to shed light on two phenomena: the backfire effect of beliefs and the backlash of integration policies targeted towards minorities.
Cite
@article{arxiv.2509.11673,
title = {Grabbing the Forbidden Fruit: Restriction-Sensitive Choice},
author = {Niels Boissonnet and Alexis Ghersengorin},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2509.11673},
year = {2026}
}