Reverse psychology

This technique relies on the psychological phenomenon of reactance, in which a person has a negative emotional reaction to being persuaded, and thus chooses the option which is being advocated against.

[4] Reverse psychology is often used on children due to their high tendency to respond with reactance, a desire to restore threatened freedom of action.

Questions have, however been raised about such an approach when it is more than merely instrumental, in the sense that "reverse psychology implies a clever manipulation of the misbehaving child".

"[6] A typical example of using reverse psychology among adolescents is a parent openly disapproving of their child's romantic relationship, with the objective being to encourage the pursuit of the opposite behavior.

[7] This psychological approach has proven to be particularly effective with adolescents as many of these are prone to rebellious tendencies and will frequently behave in a manner antithetical to the advice of well-meaning authority figures.

"[19] The result can be "what the Japanese call a secret brand ... no regular retail outlets, no catalog, no web presence apart from a few cryptic mentions ... people like it because it's almost impossible to find".

The "running craze" at the Boston Marathon and in California, dialectically, was the thesis that one did not have to be "Rocky" in a sweaty gym to be physically fit, and that body acceptance was the key to effective aerobic training.

The culture industry responded to the thesis with major advertising campaigns from Calvin Klein and others, using images featuring exceptionally toned models.

People compared themselves to these models, which created a sense of competition, and many high school students avoid jogging because of the resultant body shame.

This would not be dangerous if the material was meaningless, but it frequently offers and reinforces ideals and norms representing implied criticism of those who fail to match up.

Empirical studies show that mass culture products can lower confidence and self-esteem, and cause humiliation among men and women whose particular characteristics fall outside the normalized range for appearance, behaviour, religion, ethnicity, etc.

Marxist logic applied to the culture industry indicates that it is, per se, a dialectic in which declining profit margins and increasing costs make investors anxious for "sure things".

But the less creative the input, the more likely it becomes that roles will be cast in ways that match, rather than challenge, common prejudices which can inadvertently (or quite deliberately) damage the esteem of those in the marginalized groups.

Mark Antony pretends to side with Brutus by complimenting his deeds which have led to Caesar's murder, while actually inciting the crowd's anger.

One of the most famous examples of reverse psychology in popular culture is a gag in the Looney Tunes cartoon Rabbit Fire.

A stereotypical joke sign, inviting the user not to press it