Reactance

Psychological reactance is an unpleasant motivational state that arises when a person perceives that a specific behavioral freedom is being reduced or threatened by a rule, a piece of advice, an offer or a persuasive message, prompting the person to reassert that freedom, often by refusing to comply or by adopting a position contrary to the one being urged on them. The reaction can occur even toward messages the person might otherwise have agreed with, so that a heavy-handed persuasion attempt can paradoxically strengthen resistance to the very position being advocated, an effect closely related to what is popularly called reverse psychology. Some individuals show a consistently stronger tendency toward this response, described as trait reactance, and a commonly cited everyday illustration is that a sign restricting access to an area can increase curiosity about that area beyond what it would have been without the restriction.