 For an offer , such as " you may use my car whenever you like " , the consequence of compliance " represents a situation which is preferred to the norm " . <unk> , that is , not taking up the offer of the use of the car , is identical to the norm , and so neither more nor less preferable . Threats , on the other hand , are characterised by compliance that leads to an outcome less preferable to the norm , with noncompliance leading to an outcome less desirable still . For instance , if someone is threatened with " your money or your life " , compliance would lead to them losing their money , while noncompliance would lead to them losing their life . Both are less desirable than the norm ( that is , not being threatened at all ) , but , for the subject of the threat , losing money is more desirable than being killed . A throffer is a third kind of intervention . It differs from both a threat and an offer , as compliance is preferable to the norm , while noncompliance is less preferable than the norm . 
