Reverse psychology
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Reverse psychology is a persuasion technique involving the advocacy of a belief or behavior that is opposite to the one desired, with the expectation that this approach will encourage the subject of the persuasion to do what is desired: the opposite of what is suggested. This technique relies on the psychological phenomenon of reactance, in which a person has a negative emotional response in reaction to being persuaded, and thus chooses the option which is being advocated against. Reverse psychology is often used on children due to their lack of psychological understanding and higher rate of reactance. Reverse psychology also preys on a person's ego, as when it is used, it makes the target or the vicitim feel incompetent so therefore the person will do it.
There are numerous examples of reverse psychology in fiction and cintema, including the well-known the Looney Tunes cartoon Rabbit Fire, where Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck are trying to convince Elmer Fudd it's the hunting season for the other species and not their own. After a back-and-forth with Bugs proclaiming "Duck season!" and Daffy "Wabbit [rabbit] season!", Bugs switches to say "Rabbit season!", to which Daffy begins saying "Duck season!"- even going to far as to exclaim "I say it's duck season, and I say, FIRE!"
[edit] In fiction
Examples of reverse psychology are present in various stories and cartoons. In one of Joel Chandler Harris's Uncle Remus stories, Brer Rabbit escapes from Brer Fox by repeatedly pleading "Please, Brer Fox, don't fling me in that briar patch." The fox does so, allowing the rabbit to escape. An illustration of this is at(Splash Mountain) where Brer Rabbit is positioned over a boiling cauldron and shouts "Alright, you can boil me! But please don't throw me in dat der Briar Patch!", at which point the riders fall down a 50 feet drop.
Reverse psychology occurs several times on The Simpsons. In the season 3 episode Saturdays of Thunder, Homer has a conversation with his brain after reading a passage in Bill Cosby's parental-advice book Fatherhood:
- Homer's Brain: Don't you get it? You've gotta use reverse psychology.
- Homer: That sounds too complicated.
- Homer's Brain: OK, don't use reverse psychology.
- Homer: All right, I will!
In Edgar Allan Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado", Montresor uses reverse psychology to persuade Fortunato to enter his vaults. He says that Fortunato is too tired and should get some rest, and that he should find someone else to help him with his problem. Montresor knew that Fortunato was going to say no, that he was okay, and would insist on entering the vault.
In the episode "A Twist of Ed" of the television show Ed, Edd, and Eddy, in an attempt to demonstrate reverse psychology, Edd commands Ed not to eat a pile of dirt, so, naturally, that is the first thing he does. The three Eds use reverse psychology on their mortal enemies, the Kanker sisters, which backfires when the girls use reverse-reverse psychology on the Eds.
In the movie, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Roger is persuaded to drink a shot of Scotch whisky by means of reverse psychology.
[edit] Experiments in reverse psychology
Classic examples of reverse psychology in popular culture include a large, bright red button with a sign next to it saying "do not push," or a sign saying "jump at your own risk", such as in the computer game Neverhood, where a large drain is accompanied by signs that say "Do not jump in!" and "You will die!", although jumping in the pipe is the only way to achieve game over in the whole game without finishing it. The Looney Tunes are also well known for using such 'bright red button' gags.
Occasionally, humor is derived from reverse psychology backfiring, as in a FoxTrot strip when Jason, faced with punishment, begs his mom to take away his computer rather than make him eat a whole box of Ho-Hos, and she agrees. A similar example appears in Narbonic.
[edit] Classical examples
From the Old Testament, King Solomon, when confronted with two mothers claiming a baby as belonging to each, commanded (threatened) to have the baby cut in half. Through the response of the mother and lying non-mother, Solomon discerned the truth.
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