Leo and Lila, high school students, were bored and wanted some excitement; they abducted an 8-year-old child from the playground later killing the child. Leo and Lila were arrested a few days later, they testified that killing the child was an "awesome thrill". What theory best describes the actions of Leo and Lila?

Arousal theory

Explanation:

One of the motivational theories is known as the arousal theory. The arousal theory explains that the individual performs certain actions to maintain their physiological arousal level. Such arousal level pushes the individual to opt for certain activities which would prove to be exciting and which would stimulate their thoughts. To attain a higher level of arousal people attempt to do exciting activities, while people with a lower level of arousal level look for relaxing and soothing activities. In the above situation, Leo and Lila attempted to murder the child to attain a higher level of arousal.