# Has anyone successfully used reverse psychology **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 7, 2012, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-successfully-used-reverse-psychology/618075 "2012-04-07T12:36:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![BluePitbull](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9bcb4/32.png) [@BluePitbull](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BluePitbull)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2012, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-successfully-used-reverse-psychology/618075/1 "2012-04-07T12:36:15Z")
in real life? Has the rabbit season/duck season worked successfully outside of a cartoon? ---
**Author:** ![sevenwood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6de8d8/32.png) [@sevenwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sevenwood)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2012, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-successfully-used-reverse-psychology/618075/2 "2012-04-07T12:40:44Z")
My golf buddies use it in me all the time. They know the best way to get me to try a stupid shot is to tell me how stupid it would be to try it. “Listen, Sevenwood, there’s no way you can clear that hazard. Just take the safe approach and hit a wedge short of it and then another over it.” ---
**Author:** ![minlokwat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minlokwat/32/2844_2.png) [@minlokwat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minlokwat)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2012, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-successfully-used-reverse-psychology/618075/3 "2012-04-07T13:12:09Z")
Here you go. [youtube video](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSdsg-yFmJE) It’s in Spanish with English subtitles. ---
**Author:** ![living\_in\_hell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3d9bf3/32.png) [@living\_in\_hell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/living_in_hell)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2012, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-successfully-used-reverse-psychology/618075/4 "2012-04-07T13:14:54Z")
Every day. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2012, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-successfully-used-reverse-psychology/618075/5 "2012-04-07T13:20:00Z")
As a character on the excellent ‘Big Bang Theory’ once said “If you want a man to do something, tell him not to.” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2012, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-successfully-used-reverse-psychology/618075/6 "2012-04-07T14:12:39Z")
It’s worked for me personally. I once substitute taught at a high school. One student mentioned that he was being recruited by my alma mater to play a certain sport. I’m not going to reveal the details, except to say that I did not want him at my alma mater. (Ideally, he wouldn’t have gone to anyone’s alma mater.) So I told him, “Oh, I went there! It’s a great place! Your grades are going to go way up, because there’s really not a lot to do except study.” (I didn’t mention the drunken frat parties.) His face fell. “Oh…that’s…great.” ---
**Author:** ![KinkiNipponTourist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e9bcb4/32.png) [@KinkiNipponTourist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KinkiNipponTourist)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2012, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-successfully-used-reverse-psychology/618075/7 "2012-04-07T14:18:28Z")
I jumped the curb or something at the local shopping mall. I knew my sister wouldn’t be able to keep such a juicy tidbit from our mother, so I immediately wailed, “Wait’ll Mom finds out; she won’t let me drive the car and THEN WE’LL NEVER GET TO COME SHOPPING AGAIN!” “…Mom doesn’t _have_ to know…” sister smiles conspiratorially. I let her think keeping it secret was all her idea. ---
**Author:** ![Turble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Turble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turble)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2012, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-successfully-used-reverse-psychology/618075/8 "2012-04-07T17:23:43Z")
My father’s version worked well. As we kids were heading toward the creek he would say “If one of you comes home wet the other one gets a lickin.’” ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2012, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-successfully-used-reverse-psychology/618075/9 "2012-04-09T04:55:42Z")
Yes. Or maybe No. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2012, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-successfully-used-reverse-psychology/618075/10 "2012-04-09T14:24:07Z")
Constantly, on the little Torqueling. “Daddy, can I be finished?” “I guess so, there’s no way you could eat all that, you’re way too little.” “Nuh uh!” (finishes supper) ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2012, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-successfully-used-reverse-psychology/618075/11 "2012-04-09T15:01:35Z")
If you’re a parent of small children you use it every day. Unfortunately I think my 7 year old is getting wise to it. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2012, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-successfully-used-reverse-psychology/618075/12 "2012-04-09T15:07:38Z")
My brother and I use it on my mother all the time. He being the Golden Child and me being the Anti-Christ, all we need to do to stop her plan to do “x” is let her find out through a third party that I think its a good idea. That alone will quash anything. ---
**Author:** ![Cinnamon\_Imp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58956e/32.png) [@Cinnamon\_Imp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cinnamon_Imp)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2012, 8:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-successfully-used-reverse-psychology/618075/13 "2012-04-10T08:01:22Z")
No, and you shouldn’t either. ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2012, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-successfully-used-reverse-psychology/618075/14 "2012-04-10T17:00:46Z")
To small child: No, you can’t have these vegetables. These are only for grownups. First day response: Oh, please, please, please, let me have some!! Oh, all right. Second day response. Okay.