An Experiment on Psychological Reactance and Paradoxical Inversion

People generally dislike external restrictions placed on their freedoms. When society, your family, or basically any other person explicitly tells you not to do something, your first instinct is to go against them. You probably wanted to read this because of my clever title. Congratulations, you fell for my trap!

The proverbial 'forbidden fruit' might not be so alluring if everyone was ALLOWED to eat it. That dessert you dieters aren't letting yourself eat becomes so tempting simply because it is off limits. This article is not about dieting, but you can use this principle to help with that area as well. If you are dieting and still allow yourself to eat sweets (or whatever) occasionally, then it is no big deal and the allure wears off.

The secret thrill of potentially getting caught disobeying only adds to the desire to do what you are forbidden to do. Shakespeare must have known about these principles because his characters Romeo and Juliet were so passionate for eachother that they killed themselves when their parents would not allow them to be together. Pay attention parents, because placing restrictions on your kids will usually only cause them to revolt against you. The more you hold down a spring, the more it will come right back at you.

Almost everyone has heard the pop-phrase "reverse psychology", which is essentially using pyschological reactance to manipulate someone into doing what you want. The "real" term for reverse psychology is Paradoxical Inversion. It works the same way. Basically "the victim" is irresistably compelled to do what they're told not to do, simply because they are told not to do it!