Reactance theory grew out of research on consumer behavior. This psychological theory describes how people react when they sense a threat to their freedom of choice. The theory extends to many other ...

Psychological reactance is a motivational state aroused when real or perceived personal freedoms are threatened, reduced, or eliminated. Although psychological reactance theory has existed for almost ...

This is the second part of a two-part series of essays. [July 14 update: I posted this essay July 13, one day before the Trump administration announced that it was rescinding the ICE policy described ...

THE teenage girl who wins the boy by playing hard to get. The parents whose disapproval of their daughter’s boyfriend only drives her into his arms. The child who will wear anything except what her ...

There's good news for frustrated parents trying to get their kids to eat their vegetables (or go to sleep, or clean their rooms): Science shows that using reverse psychology can, indeed, work. Reverse ...