"There's No Cause for Alarm."
The psychology of reactance.
It doesn't matter if there's a hurricane heading for California or a new strain of a deadly virus spreading around the world. A lot of people just don't care anymore. They want their vacations. They want their concerts. They get high off telling everyone, "It's just weather" or "You do you."
When they find out they're wrong, they freak out. They're the first ones to fill up their shopping carts with toilet paper.
There’s a psychology behind all this.
It’s called reactance.
Jack W. Brehm introduced the idea of reactance in his 1966 book, A Theory of Psychological Reactance. He argued that people have a natural tendency to resist perceived threats to their freedom and autonomy. They hate being told what to do, even if it’s for their own good.
Psychologists have been studying reactance for almost 60 years now, and they’ve learned a lot. People have no problem indulging in panic when it means loading up their cars with gas and toilet paper. They respond to threats by engaging in th…