If you’ve raised kids, or are trying to enact change in organization, you know well the phenomenon of psychological reactance, although you probably don’t know it by that name. You might call it the ...

Imagine that you’ve just started a new diet, and you ask your partner to support you in your efforts by reminding you to cook healthy meals at home instead of eating out and do something active after ...

The theory of psychological reactance originates in the 1960s with Jack Brehm, who developed it when he was a professor at Duke University. Brehm said that humans are negatively aroused when they ...

Emilie Le Beau Lucchesi, Ph.D., is a freelance journalist who regularly contributes to Discover Magazine. She reports on the social sciences, medical history, and new scientific discoveries. View Full ...

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 ...