The Forbidden Fruit Effect 

Occurs in every person. It’s a result of man’s desire to learn about the unknown and the consequences of things that are supposed to be dangerous.

We humans greatly dislike prohibitions and impositions, since it makes us feel as though our freedom is threatened. This is one asset that we all see as being extremely valuable.

“There is a charm about the forbidden that makes it unspeakably desirable.”  

-Mark Twain

Therefore, when something is forbidden, it immediately catches our eye and curiosity. All of a sudden, we’re highly motivated to learn about it, achieve it and explore it. This serves as an affirmation to ourselves that we’re truly free, and alleviates our unbearable curiosity.

When something is forbidden, curiosity towards it increases.

Forbidden options are frequently associated with a lack of information – they are often perceived to be more uncertain than other freely-available options. 

Thus, motivation to resolve uncertainty provides a viable account of the forbidden fruit effect. 

Another possibility is that forbidden options make people infer hidden value – there must be a reason why the item is forbidden. 

For example, a forbidden option may signal the possibility that the information is concealed due to its importance or scarcity, bolstering the subjective value of the uncertain information.

People are curious about a forbidden option simply because it was inaccessible or seems unavailable is, as a result, more desirable. 

The reactance theory assumes that people like to behave according to their own desires, and if this freedom is threatened, they experience reactance, that is, negative emotional states that humans want to avoid. To escape the emotional unpleasantness of reactance, people behave against the rules forced upon them

The human mind is fascinated by things not within our reach. In Mark Twain’s words, “There is a charm about the forbidden that makes it unspeakably desirable.” 

Certainly, there is an attractive seduction in whispers that we do not find in shouted words.

You may possess plenty that others crave, but your heart desires the one thing that you cannot have. There is a tingly excitement in pursuing the unachievable, in doing the forbidden. An element of naughtiness and rebellion gives an edge of excitement to our fairly regulated existence.

When most of life is lived by the rule book, breaking some rules is a way to taste freedom and feel a sense of self-control. 

Perhaps more than the forbidden experience, it is this freedom that we enjoy, and it is this feeling that tempts us to push past the boundaries of everyday experience and taste the rush of adrenaline.

People also find pleasure in lesser crimes – sleeping in late, a drink in the afternoon, jumping red lights or parking wrong.

Every child gets curious about things he is forbidden to do. This instinct carries well into adulthood and the adrenaline flow of dangerous, risqué situations continues to encourage us towards the forbidden. 

Sometimes going for the forbidden gives us a sharper understanding of who we are and what we can allow ourselves. 

And at times, the forbidden becomes a crushing disappointment and an everlasting regret. 

“The only way to get rid of temptation is to yield to it… I can resist everything but temptation.”

-Oscar Wilde

The less information one has about a person, the more actual similarity affects liking.

Studies – where people just read about a stranger and don’t actually meet them, discovering they have a lot in common with the stranger – show this greatly boosts liking, because they have nothing else upon which to base their impression, just their commonalities.

Where people actually met these strangers with whom they had commonalities, they liked them less after meeting them, as when they never met them at all. And after longer-term situations where they really got to know each other, like friendships and romantic relationships, liking was indifferent (neutral) because if they like them, and have certain commonalities, they would be with them, if not, they won’t have any close relationship in any case.

All this means is that a perceived similarity had a large effect on liking. So it’s more important to think you have a lot in common with someone, than it is to actually have a lot in common.

So to create mystique luxury brands have always used this concept to get people to admire or like a designer, just ever so slightly give glimpses into the designer’s life, just enough to make him likeable, keeping the rest as a mystery.