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How to adapt to different speaking situations
How to engage with an audience
How to use body language effectively
The negative thoughts and anger that come along with reactance make it worth taking the time to notice when your brain engages in psychological reactance and attempting to reframe those scenarios so they do not feel like threats to freedom. If I can think differently about the question when my husband asks me “what’s the plan,” I might be able to spare myself from those brief, negative thoughts and emotions.
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Reframing the experience so it is no longer a threat to freedom is one way we can try to avoid psychological reactance. We can try to remember that just because someone suggests something to us or asks us to do something, they are not necessarily trying to control us. Scientists are working on di...
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Imagine You Just Started Something
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 work instead of watching Netflix. O...
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It's Called Psychological Reactance
You are not alone. In fact, this angry reaction is one of the reasons why our efforts to reach our goals can fall short or even backfire. When people feel that their choices are restricted, or that others are telling them what to do, they sometimes rebel and do the opposite.
Scientists have...
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As I’ve been researching this concept, I’ve become hyper-aware of my own psychological reactance. I’ve noticed that my brain has reactance in response to the smallest threats. For example, when my husband says, “What’s the plan for this evening?” instead of simply responding with “no plans” or wi...
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It Has Two Parts
This strong reaction to a threat to freedom has two parts: feelings and thoughts. When reactance is happening in our minds and bodies, we have negative thoughts, and we often feel anger, hostility, and aggression .
People who str...
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Why we do the opposite of what we are supposed to do
We hate the feeling of being bossed around, even when doing as we’re told is good for us.
Psychological reactance is our knee-jerk negative reaction to being told what to do.
Based on research, almost everyone has this mental reflex against being told what to do, esp...
Anger is a positive reinforcer
We often classify anger as negative because the outcomes are negative. But anger itself is positive when we separate it from its surrounding thoughts and behaviours.
When we assess an injustice, we often conclude that something is wrong, but that I am right!
Recognize, Validate, Reframe
- Simply recognize that you’re feeling a particular way about something.
- Validae those emotions. A lot of times what we try to do when we’re feeling negative or stressed is we try to fight it. And really what you’re doing is creating what’s called a secondary emotion, and that judgm...
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