In psychology, reactance is an unpleasant motivational reaction to offers, persons, rules, regulations, advice, recommendations, information, and messages that are perceived to …

Reactance is an unpleasant motivational arousal that emerges when people experience a threat to or loss of their free behaviors. It serves as a motivator to restore one’s freedom. The …

Feb 21, 2025 · Reactance theory, proposed by Jack Brehm, explains the psychological and behavioral response people often have when they perceive their freedom of action or choice is …

Reactance theory suggests that when individuals perceive their freedom of choice is being restricted, they experience psychological reactance, a motivational state aimed at reclaiming …

Initially proposed nearly 60 years ago, psychological reactance theory (PRT; J. W. Brehm, 1966) describes how people respond to threats to, or elimination of, valued freedoms.

The current chapter summarizes psychologi-cal reactance theory (Brehm, 1966) which can explain why people sometimes “fight back,” meaning that they do the opposite of what they are …

Psychological reactance theory was first proposed by the social psychologist Jack Brehm in 1966. Reactance theory is still considered to be one of the basic psychological theories; it has …