Psychological reactance: what is it and what are its effects?
Have you ever wondered why some people use reverse psychology to convince others?
The answer is in the reactance , a curious psychological phenomenon that leads us to make decisions in a non-rational way.
What is the reactance in Psychology?
Reactance is a psychological phenomenon related to motivation and heuristics, that is, the mental shortcuts by which we make decisions without going through a reflection phase based on logic.
Specifically, the reactance is a tendency to reject rules or indications coming from others and that are perceived as a limitation of personal freedom. In short, it is an emotional reaction to real or apparent impositions.
In addition, reactance is not only a phenomenon that occurs in individuals, but can be manifested collectively; for example, before political or economic events.
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The concept of heuristic
Reactance is not as rational as emotional , since it is a response to a perception of a change, rather than being based on a logical analysis of the present and the best options that can be taken in that situation.
This is related to the fact that a large part of the decisions and actions that we carry out are not based as much on rational reasoning as on emotions.
- Related article: "" Heuristic ": the mental shortcuts of human thought"
The characteristics of the psychological reactance
These are some of the characteristics and psychological effects of this phenomenon.
1. It gives rise to manipulation
The psychological reactance can be foreseen by people who have a special interest in convincing someone. That makes it be used to present an undesirable option in which there are apparent norms and make the other option, the one that you really want to "sell" to the other, look more attractive in comparison.
2. It hinders psychological experimentation
There is a type of psychological reactance called Hawthorne effect which hinders the performance of experiments or research based on the observation of human beings.
This is so because people who volunteer to be observed in this kind of studies, knowing that they are observed, stop acting naturally and spontaneously simply because they think about the forecasts and the guidelines with which they work. the researchers who are observing.
In some way, they react to knowing they are observed, and "disobey" before the premise of acting naturally, which causes them to act in a way that is not very representative of their habitual way of feeling, thinking or behaving.
3. The greater the importance of the element, the greater the reaction
If the option that is threatened by the rules is highly valued , the emotional reaction will be greater and more violent or disruptive.
4. The greater the imposition, the greater the reactance
It has been found that in cases of reactance, this can appear even when the behavior that is limited or "prohibited" I was not even very valued before . The greater the feeling that there is something that threatens one's freedom, the greater the reaction against this imposition.
5. The expectation of freedom
People less used to sticking to rules They tend to present a higher level of reactance, because their expectations regarding their level of freedom are higher.
6. A key role in reverse psychology
Reactance is also taken into account by people who use reverse psychology to influence about the behavior of others. This strategy consists of taking advantage of the type of thinking based on the emotionality that occurs during the reactance to prevent someone from making a rational decision.
In this way, a perfectly acceptable and even desirable option is presented as a type of apparent imposition, and that makes the interlocutors or the audience feel inclined towards the opposite option.
This phenomenon is usually used both in dealing with disobedient children and in political argumentation and propaganda.
7. The vision of the other influences
The reactance is especially strong when the schemes to be adapted come from someone or something (such as an institution) that is not perceived as legitimate . For example, if there is a series of measures adopted by a government that is perceived as illegitimate, the reactions against these new laws will be greater.
8. Depends on the number of threatened freedoms
This phenomenon not only depends on the intensity of the perceived imposition, but also on the the amount of freedoms that are compromised Thus, a rule that affects the ability to acquire products and at the same time the number of options to choose to make purchases will be seen as a greater imposition and the reactance will be greater.
